Ladies and Gentlemen
by rexlover180
Summary: Matthew and Alfred, the "Jones Brothers", are an act in the famous, travelling Kirkland Circus. To everyone else, it's just a simple circus, but to the ones that know the secret, there's a little more to it. One day, a new person enters their close-knit family and, as much as he is welcome, secrets still have to be kept from him. But he just may have a few secrets of his own PruCan
1. Chapter 1

_(Quick A/N, anything in italics is in French)_

* * *

London, England

The applause was deafening. Tourists of all kinds cheered for them happily and Matthew raised his hands high, holding onto his brothers', before bowing and the cheering didn't stop. He couldn't hide the smile from his face as they stood upright and the ring master happily made his way over to them, hands on either of their shoulders. His wicked grin couldn't be smothered by anything, not even the make-up coating his face. He was always his happiest when he was in his home city.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he boasted loudly into his headset, his voice booming over the crowd and making the cheers die down slightly. "The Jones Brothers!"

Matthew was panting from exhaustion, but that didn't stop him from doing a kart-wheel and flip on his way out of the main dome, the canopy moving out of his way as he and Alfred walked through it. People filed around outside, going from dome to dome to see the sights that could be seen. The moon and stars sparkled above them, along with the moving lights of the cars.

"Mattie! That was awesome!" Alfred cheered, pulling his "brother" into a hug and then a noogie and Matthew just laughed, not even trying very hard to pull him away. "You gotta do that more often!"

"Improv isn't really my strong suit," Matthew smiled as Alfred released him and they walked happily around the tent. They still had a little time until Matthew had to come on for the second to last act and then Alfred had to be there for the last one. "I was just trying not to fall."

"Well, you did one hell of a job!" Alfred laughed. "We gotta go out for drinks, dude!"

"After this I'm going to sleep," Matthew rolled his eyes. "I'm ripping myself out of these tights, washing off this makeup, and not going to a pub filled with people drunk off their asses. It's past midnight, only bad people are out now."

"Yeah, and it's a full moon so there are werewolves, too," Alfred nudged him. "Come on, don't be a loser! When was the last time we got out and did something together? I hardly see you when we're not doing this!"

"Germany," Matthew answered. "And I think I tried to speak German that time and got punched in the face because I said something stupid."

"Yeah, you should stick to French," Alfred smirked, watching as children pulled their parents rapidly to the main tent. Matthew waved happily at them as they waved to him. He was usually shy during the day, but when he was in his costume and full of euphoria from the show, he could be as confident as Alfred. "You going home after this?"

"Yeah, our job is done for now," Matthew stretched, feeling the sore muscles on his back from the night before. Whenever they touched on the subject of leaving, everyone in the group would change the subject as quickly as possible. They were a close family, regardless of what they did together, and parting ways always brought everyone down.

"What do you think Francis is doing in there with his fire? Remember when he tried juggling it last night?"

"I remember bandaging his face while he whined for a few hours," Matthew chuckled. "'Mon visage! Mon visage!'" Alfred laughed while Matthew mimicked Francis and his distress. "I can't help but wonder what his most recent 'partner' thinks about the burns on his face."

"You mean the whore tied up in his dome?" Alfred asked and Matthew giggled. Just as they reached the back of the main dome and the audience roared with excitement. Matthew was able to notice, in the small alleyways that were created by the domes, that there were a few shadows in the darkness. The closer he looked, the more defined they became.

There were multiple tall ones that were attacking a smaller one that couldn't even move back. None of them seemed to have any weapons and Matthew couldn't hear anything over the cheering crowd behind him and the rush of people around him, but something was definitely happening. Someone was getting beaten up, but no one was there to stop them.

"Hey, Al," Matthew muttered, looking to his "brother".

"Shit, dude, you're about to go on!" Alfred jumped and grabbed onto Matthew's wrist before pulling him around the other side of the dome, to the place where it would open. Matthew looked back over at the figures, but they were too dark with the rest of the night around them for him to see them anymore. With a sigh, Matthew shook his head and got back into his show mood. There wouldn't have been anything he could have done about it. Now all he could do is forget. "Try not to actually break a leg this time."

"You don't have to say that every time I go in," Matthew rolled his eyes as Alfred pushed him into the dome, giving it barely enough time to open for him. The dome was old, so it was slow, but it was still a part of their group. The crowd was roaring while he swiftly ran in, Arthur introducing the next act. Matthew took his place next to their strong man, Ivan, who was also smiling very happily, his metal glinting in the bright stage lights. Matthew almost went into auto pilot, flipping and balancing at the right moments and the crowd cheered him on.

As soon as he stood on his hand on Ivan's hand, the people for the final act came charging through and the audience practically lost their minds. Matthew flipped off of Ivan's hand and landed gracefully as elephants trumpeted loudly, their mechanics whirring loudly, but too quiet to hear over the crowd. Alfred was having the time of his life, as he usually did during the last act, as he stood carefully on top of one of the elephants. Now all Matthew had to do was sit and wait until they had to bow one last time.

Suddenly, Elizaveta ran past him, pushing him into Ivan as she made a beeline for Arthur, who was standing in the center of the ring. She looked almost panicked and it piqued Matthew's interest. She easily ducked around the elephants before skidding to a stop in front of Arthur and talking rapidly to him. Arthur's eyes widened in surprise before he took off his top hat and flung it expertly upwards. It floated at the perfect height and Alfred reacted quickly and caught it, looking at Arthur before nodding and putting it on before flipping backwards, into the center of the ring as Arthur and Elizaveta ran out of the dome.

Matthew had to wonder what caused Arthur to leave in the middle of a show, but they had to keep going. Alfred would do just fine orchestrating it for the last few minutes, then Matthew would be free to check out what's going on.

"Thank you, thank you!" Alfred boasted loudly over the crowd, adjusting the headset Arthur had left behind. "I know you've all enjoyed the show but we've gotta wrap it up here. So you all can go back to your normal, boring lives. But before you're forced to look back at the normal world, let's look back at all of our performers!"

The elephants left the dome, trumpeting nervously and everyone else ran in, waving and smiling. Matthew ran beside Alfred, who took his hand in his and they raised them high above their heads. Matthew also held onto Ivan's hand, but he was taller and so Matthew had to go onto the tips of his toes carefully. They bowed and the audience roared.

Matthew didn't even try to contain his smile as they stood back up and waved as the crowd began to get up and leave to go to some other attraction they had.

"Do you know what happened to Arthur?" the performers asked each other nervously as they started walking back to the entrance of the dome themselves.

"What the hell did Eliza do?"

"Alfred," Antonio smiled, running up to Alfred and wrapping an arm around his shoulder, his green eyes shining brightly and his chocolate brown hair ragged from his own performance. "That was an amazing job. I was pretty impressed when you flipped off the elephant."

"Yeah, well, Artie needed me, so I couldn't really say no," Alfred shrugged happily. "It's not too hard to get the crowd to like me, you know."

"Wow, you're so humble," Matthew rolled his eyes as Francis, Antonio's best friend, joined them.

"Matthew, might I say you looked quite fantastic on the rope," Francis smirked and Matthew rolled his eyes, knowing the man did not mean any of his flirting. "I am quite curious about, considering how flexible you are, how good you are in bed."

"Francis," Alfred glared slightly at him and Francis chuckled, his hands up in surrender.

"So, do you know what would cause Arthur to leave at the end of the show?" Francis asked curiously.

"I have no idea," Alfred shrugged and they stopped in the small crowd of performers. They heard Elizaveta's voice suddenly through a headset.

"Arthur gave me a message for you guys," Elizaveta said, sounding actually rather distracted. Matthew couldn't see her through the crowd, but he hoped she was okay. "We're done for now," a chorus of groans came from the performers, including Alfred and Francis. "We'll contact you when we'll get back together. You're free to leave when you want, your share of our…profits this time around will be in your own rooms under the domes." Everyone laughed slightly at the word "profits" and even Matthew cracked a little smile at that. No one ever caught them, it was wonderful.

With that, the group of performers moved again.

"Come on, Mattie!" Alfred grabbed onto Matthew's wrist and started pulling him towards their dome. "Spend one last night with your brother before we gotta leave!"

"Al, we aren't even brothers," Matthew groaned, but followed him anyway. Alfred's charisma was hard to say no to.

* * *

Quebec, Canada  
5 Months Later

Matthew was in his kitchen, carefully and meticulously making pancakes from scratch. Everyone said it was just a waste of time, since he could just have a robot do it, or get the instant mix that he could just pour out, but Matthew thought it was worth it. No other pancake he had had, in any part of the world, could match the ones he made on his own. Just as he was about to finish pouring the mix onto a pan, an old relic Matthew was very happy he found in Belgium, a shrill ringing came from behind him and he flinched, ruining the perfect roundness of the beautiful food. Matthew groaned, emptied out the rest of the batter he needed and turned around to pick up the phone that was ringing behind him.

"Oui?" Matthew sighed in his second native tongue, not even looking at the person who was calling him. No matter who it was, he would be mad at them for doing such a thing.

"_Is that any way to talk to me_?" Francis asked back, as dramatically as possible and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"_You ruined my pancakes, you deserve it_," Matthew muttered, turning back to the wonderful food and watched while it cooked. People also said that that was useless, that he could just have it automatically cook in an oven or something, but he refused. "_What do you want, anyway?_"

"_What? I can't just talk to my favorite Canadian when I want to_?" Francis asked theatrically.

"_I'm pretty sure I'm the only Canadian you know_," Matthew stated and Francis sighed.

"_You take the fun out of it, Mathieu_," Francis sighed. "_Anyway, I do have a reason, if you want to be so cruel about it. I need your advice._"

"_Is this more about Arthur_?" Matthew asked bluntly, flipping the pancake and smiling at the perfect, golden color.

"_Maybe_," came Francis' weak reply.

"_Is it something you did or are going to do_?" Matthew asked.

"_Going to do_," Francis said clearly. "_I need your advice on how to get him into my dome next time we go out._"

"_Last time you did that, you had bruises for the next three months,_" Matthew pointed out.

"_I have a better plan this time,_" Francis whined. "_Trust me sometimes._"

"Oui, oui, Papa," Matthew sighed and flipped the pancake again with a smirk at how perfect it was. He just pulled out a plate when a sudden letter appeared in front of him, floating and waiting to be looked at. "Francis, did you get a…"

"Yes," Francis replied in English.

Matthew carefully touched it with his finger, turning off the almost ancient stove and placing the pancake on a plate while it read out what it had to say.

"**August 5th, 2064, to a Matthew Williams from an Arthur Kirkland. Paris, France. You have one day. End message.**"

"Looks like you're in luck, Francis," Matthew smiled slightly, very much looking forward to everyone getting back together.

"Oui, finally Arthur decides to start in the most romantic city in the world," Francis sighed happily. "Perhaps this will be the perfect time for my plan."

"Good luck," Matthew laughed slightly, thinking through all of the things he would have to pack and how quickly he could get to a jet. If he was quick, he could get to Paris in just a few hours. "I'll see you in a few hours, alright?"

"I look forward to seeing you again, mon fils," Francis chuckled.

"Bye, Papa," Matthew tossed the phone onto the table and grabbed onto the pancake, foregoing the maple syrup, just because he was in a hurry, and ran into his room in his little apartment to quickly push the few things he would need into his small bag and grabbed the little money he had before running out the door. He didn't need his phone and the door locked itself, so he knew his house would be fine on its own.

Matthew couldn't hide his excitement as he ran to the street to get a cab. The only reason he was noticed so quickly was because he was already getting into the mood of another trip to be with his true family. As the hovercar zoomed towards the airport, Matthew nearly jumped in his seat with excitement. He'd been waiting for this since the minute he left London.

* * *

**Alrighty, new story, are you guys excited? I got this idea that I really wanted to do a circus fic and my original idea wasn't exciting enough, though it was just going to be a few chapters. Eventually, I made wonderful little plot bunnies in my head and it grew more exciting and also longer, so I'm starting it now! Thanks to everyone who gave me translations in my other fic, as they will be useful here.**

**Now, it's a circus fic set in the future. I like the idea since the other story I'm writing right now is set to the point where it is basically the past. This gives me a chance to play with technology and all kinds of things. I'll explain things as I go, don't worry, and not a lot of things have changed, since only fifty years have passed. I like to think that the world was able to hold on and not start World War III yet, though that's unrealistic, and so Europe is sort of at peace. Sure, country borders have probably shifted slightly, but I'm sure it's all relatively the same.**

**Pairing wise, the main ship will be PruCan (because I'm obsessed) and I'm thinking FrUK (because of a situation that cannot allow USUK. It might just become FACE family, I don't know). There might be other minor pairings, like Spamano and AusHun in the background, but they won't be extremely major. Anyway, I think that's all I got on the story so far, be excited for next chapter (cause Gilbert) and I'll see you when I update next!**

**Speaking of updates, I plan on updating this once every other day, but we'll see how that turns out...**

**I do not and never will own Hetalia, sorry.**

**And please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Paris, France

Matthew took a deep breath before tapping the mechanism with his foot and the rope appeared in front of him, a bright, shimmering red. With a smile that he couldn't hide, Matthew stepped onto it, balancing perfectly, as if he had never left. Not bothering to wait any longer, Matthew went through the most basic routine he knew, walking and twirling and jumping and flipping at just the right moments, the music in his head and nowhere else.

He was so lost in the moment that he didn't notice another person climbing to the top. He did notice, however, when the rope disappeared below him just as he jumped for a flip.

"Oh, you asshole," Matthew cursed as he fell towards the ground. The wind rushed through his hair for a few seconds before he was caught by the net below him, the same color as the rope above him.

"Dude! You should have seen your face, that was hilarious!" Alfred laughed loudly above him, looking down at him.

"Dammit, Alfred!" Matthew called back to him.

"Come on, I couldn't resist!" Alfred laughed.

"I haven't seen you in months and this is how you say hi?" Matthew couldn't stop himself from laughing as he leaned against the net around him.

"I know you love me, bro!" Alfred laughed as he jumped off the podium and fell onto the net, landing beside Matthew and causing the other acrobat to bounce on the net.

"We're not really brothers," Matthew smirked at him before rolling off the net and landing on the ground simply. He looked at Alfred carefully, noting that he was still in his street clothes. Matthew had gotten there an hour earlier and, after catching up with everyone, changed into his practice clothes to try out the tightrope. They had apparently gotten some new equipment and he had to see how well it worked. At least the net worked fine.

"Well, shit, don't let the news get out," Alfred laughed, following suit and standing beside Matthew. "I can't believe we still manage to look alike after all these years!"

"If people looked close enough, they could see the obvious differences," Matthew rolled his eyes. "Like the eyes or the overall body shape or the fact that my hair is curly and yours isn't."

"Sh," Alfred laughed, placing a finger over Matthew's lips. "Don't speak. Tell me with a nod of your head. You wanna try to practice that new routine again?"

"If you feel like falling a million times," Matthew rolled his eyes, slapping the hand away. "We're both rusty after a few months, let's take it easy our first time."

"You sound like we're having sex," Alfred burst out laughing. Matthew had no idea how much he missed Alfred until then. "Dude, that's, like, incest!"

"You are definitely not my type," Matthew rolled his eyes, hitting Alfred hard in the shoulder. They were both fairly strong, they had to be, and Alfred was always stronger, but Matthew could easily fight back if he had to. "And we are not related. If we were, stupidity would run in the family."

"Oh, please, I can see plenty of stupid in ya," Alfred laughed, wrapping his arm around Matthew's neck and they both laughed as Matthew struggled to get out of the hold. "What the hell is your type anyway? I've always felt like you're gay. Are you?"

"I'm just about as gay as you, Al," Matthew rolled his eyes. His brother had confided in him last year about probably being bisexual, but he wasn't sure. Matthew could honestly say he was the same way. Staying in tights for so long around so many people in tights could make anyone think they're slightly gay.

"You're no fun," Alfred laughed, pushing Matthew away.

"Alfredo! Matteo!" a hyper Italian yelled happily and Matthew braced himself for the strong hug that he and Alfred were pulled into. "I've missed you two so much!"

"Yeah, Feli," Alfred chuckled, ruffling the hair of the short Italian as they were released. "I missed you, too, man. You staying in shape?"

Feliciano nodded happily, that one odd curl bouncing along his auburn hair. "And I've been eating my five meals a day."

"Can we afford your eating habits?" Matthew laughed.

"Says the guy that downs bottles of maple syrup like it's alcohol," Alfred elbowed him and Matthew rolled his eyes. "How do you even find that stuff anyway?"

"I have my ways," Matthew smirked.

"Alright!" Arthur shouted through his headset into the dome and all of the performers that had gathered quieted down to look at the man in the center. He was dressed as casually as the rest, though Matthew had to admit that he never got used to seeing him like a punk, he was so used to seeing him dressed as the ring master. "Now that the Italians are here, we can get started."

There was a chorus of laughter and Matthew waited for the other Italian to pipe up like he always did.

"I'm fucking sorry that you sent us that fucking mail during siesta time!" Lovino yelled through the crowd and more laughter sounded.

"Anyway, I have an announcement," Arthur said simply though the head set and everyone quieted down. "Starting today, we have a new member of our troop." A man walked through the crowd, towards the center. Matthew was immediately intrigued by the man, he had shocking white hair and bright red eyes, as well as a white bandage wrapped around his head. He was wearing very basic clothes and he looked like he was cocky, but something heavy was on his mind. "His name is Gilbert. He won't be performing until probably the next city on our route due to his concussion."

"I told you, I don't have one," Gilbert stated and Matthew wondered why he would have a concussion.

"You're delusional, you have a concussion," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Alfred, I want you to show him around. The rest of you, our first show is soon, so you should practice as I know you're all a little rusty. I hope to God you all stayed in shape."

"Yeah, and when the hell was your last drink?" Antonio cackled and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Keep that up and your act is out for Paris," Arthur grumbled before taking off the head set and nudging Gilbert in Matthew and Alfred's direction.

"Am I gonna be the one that has to find his act for him?" Alfred groaned. "He doesn't look like a circus guy."

"He looks like he might be an oddity or something," Matthew shrugged and tried to walk away, but Alfred looped an arm around his shoulders.

"Oh, no you're not," Alfred smirked. "You're staying with me."

"Al, Arthur gave this job to you, not us," Matthew sighed.

"Brows told me Alfred was one of the twins," Gilbert said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked at the two brothers. "Which one is he?"

"Twins, huh?" Alfred cracked a smile and held out a hand, the other moving Matthew into a headlock. "I'm Matthew."

"Are you serious?" Matthew snapped, struggling to get out of his grip. "You just want to get out of this?"

"Hey, mind if I ask ya what year it is?" Gilbert sighed and the "brothers" turned their attention to him curiously.

"2064," Matthew muttered and Gilbert scoffed, looking away. He figured it might have been from that concussion Arthur talked about, but he figured he should ask. "Why?"

"No reason," Gilbert muttered. "Can you two decide on which one is Alfred or should I go find that other set of twins?"

"Like either of 'em will help you," Alfred laughed. "No offense, Feli," he glanced over at the Italian, who simply shrugged.

"None taken, I've been told I'm useless," Feliciano laughed and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Al, I'll give you ten seconds before I knee you in the balls," Matthew threatened.

"Why would you do that?" Alfred whined. "I don't see you in months and you do this to me?"

"Yes," Matthew said bluntly and Gilbert snorted.

"You two remind me of me and my bruder," Gilbert smirked.

"Yeah, yeah," Alfred sighed, releasing Matthew. "But you're still staying."

"So you're Alfred?" Gilbert asked, turning to Alfred, who nodded and gave his heroic smile.

"The one and only heroic Alfred Jones!" Alfred announced proudly, holding out a hand.

"The awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt at your service," Gilbert smirked, taking a firm hold on his hand.

"I'm just Matthew," Matthew sighed, raising his hand. "Matthew Williams, we really aren't twins."

"First lie of the circus, huh?" Gilbert smirked. "Other than having domes instead of tents, of course."

"Dude, tents are so old school," Alfred laughed. "No one's used those in, like, 20 years!"

"Yeah," Gilbert muttered. "Guess so."

"I-If you don't mind me asking," Matthew piped up. "What did Arthur mean by delusions?"

"It's nothing," Gilbert shook his head. "Just a little memory loss, don't worry about it."

"If you say so," Alfred shrugged and started walking to the exit of the dome. "Follow me, I'll show you around."

"And I'll go with you to make sure Alfred doesn't do anything stupid," Matthew said, walking beside Gilbert as they followed Alfred out.

"I wouldn't mind someone like you following me around," Gilbert smirked and Matthew felt his face go hot as he blushed. He definitely wasn't expecting that, of all things.

"So, Al," Matthew cleared his throat and walked quickly to catch up with his brother. "Should we show him underground first?"

"Great idea!" Alfred chimed. "It's freaking awesome, just wait 'till you see it all!"

"Can't wait," Gilbert stated.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter's kind of short. There wasn't a lot to do and I wanted to end it there. Chances are, the lengths of these chapters will vary a lot because of how this fic is working. And I hope you don't mind the sheer amount of dialogue, since right now, it doesn't require too much description. Be patient with me! I swear it'll get more interesting! For now, try to focus on the awesome future-ness of this circus!**

**And please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you serious?" Gilbert gaped, looking around in surprise as Matthew and Alfred walked ahead him. They had walked into their dome and into the stairs at the back of the empty room, which revealed their underground. "This is fucking awesome!" The albino rushed around the massive area that all of the performers shared. Sure, there were a few separate rooms for sleeping, but they were all family here so no one had any secrets to hide.

"Yeah, I know right?" Alfred laughed happily, looking around. "This is pretty hard technology to find, too, so that's why we have the domes so that the government doesn't go poking around and taking it from us."

"What the hell is it?" Gilbert asked, trying to look at everything at once.

"It's sort of like a pocket dimension," Matthew explained. "All of the domes are connected to this one place and we can sleep and eat or just hang out here."

"Mattie usually only comes to sleep and eat, though, since he spends so much time practicing," Alfred laughed, hugging his "brother" close to him and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"At least I'm not a fat ass," Matthew stated, easily getting out of Alfred's grip. "I practice every day and I'm in better shape than you."

"Hey, I'm definitely stronger than you," Alfred pouted.

"Takes more than strength to win a fight," Matthew hummed.

"As much as my awesome self loves to be ignored," Gilbert said sarcastically, standing between the two, "you two should get over yourselves and keep touring."

"Right," Alfred laughed and Matthew rolled his eyes as they kept walking, Alfred explaining something occasionally and Matthew adding when it was important. It was rather odd that Gilbert found even the simplest things incredibly impressive. Once they were back in the main dome, Gilbert continued going on about how things were "totally awesome." Like the mechanic elephants and the electric knives that were used for throwing, but they hadn't had someone to throw knives for two years.

"This would hurt like hell if you missed," Gilbert mused, tossing the knife up expertly and catching it.

"Hey, try throwing it at the target," Alfred suggested. "You gotta work here some way and I'm sure you're too awesome for cleaning. If we can get you an act, that'd be great."

"Knife thrower, huh?" Gilbert smirked, weighing the knife carefully in his hands before quickly twirling around, towards a weak target that was mainly there for Ivan to throw things at. Gilbert threw the object expertly, the electricity striking along the air as it flew before it struck the target right in the center. "I am a little rusty."

"Dude!" Alfred howled with laughter, but no one else in the dome even blinked at it, since it was such a common occurrence. "What the hell have you been doing? You're way too good at that!"

"I'm just used to protecting myself," Gilbert smirked.

"That was so cool!" Antonio chirped happily, running up to Gilbert and shaking his hand before Gilbert knew what was going on. "You're really awesome at that! My name is Antonio, what's yours?"

"Gilbert," the albino shrugged easily. "What's your job here?"

"I'm a magician!" Antonio chimed. "My assistant, Lovi, has gone off somewhere since I…accidentally got him into a dress. But I thought he looked adorable anyway! So are you going to be our new knife thrower?"

"I guess," Gilbert shrugged and Matthew giggled. Antonio had always been good at making friends. "As soon as brows clears me from this stupid concussion thing he keeps talking about."

"Oh, yeah, I didn't notice those bandages on your head," Antonio mused, looking at him with concern.

"So you are the new one," Francis chuckled, appearing suddenly and draping an arm around the albino. "I have to say, you are quite a looker."

"I know, I'm almost too awesome to take in all at once," Gilbert smirked proudly and Matthew rolled his eyes. "You're not bad, either."

"Oui, I know," Francis said proudly, releasing Gilbert and dramatically placing a hand on his chest. "I have the looks of a God."

"I wouldn't go that far," Antonio laughed and Francis feigned hurt.

"Wow, Franny, you should be an actor instead of a fire breather," Alfred rolled his eyes. "You two mind taking over for us, it seems like he enjoys your company more than ours."

"You'll leave me alone to fend for myself?" Gilbert laughed. "How cruel of you."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure we'll be close friends," Antonio chimed happily, his dopey smile never leaving his face.

"I would not mind getting to know him," Francis nodded.

"Just so you know ahead of time, you're definitely not my type," Gilbert smirked.

"And you are most certainly not mine," Francis replied back. "If we all based our relationships off of looks and not l'amour, this world would be quite a terrible place indeed."

"Yeah," Alfred nodded slowly. "Mattie and I are gonna go practice or something." For once, Matthew didn't mind being dragged away by Alfred. He could just figure that those three being together would turn into a very bad combination, but it was out of his hands now.

"Oi, wait, a sec," Gilbert called after them and swiftly ran in front of Matthew, surprising the acrobat. "I gotta question for you."

"Yeah?" Matthew asked, though he decided that he definitely didn't like the smirk that was playing across Gilbert's face.

"You wanna go on a date with me?" Gilbert asked and Matthew's jaw dropped. He couldn't help it. He had never expected to be asked on a date with someone, especially in an old fashioned way like that.

"Uh, sorry, but, um, no thanks," Matthew mumbled and Gilbert frowned slightly. To be perfectly honest, Matthew could do without Gilbert's cockiness, but he was too polite to say something like that out loud. Besides, it had been five months since he had been with his family and he wanted to practice before they went after whatever Arthur had targeted for their stay in Paris.

"You sure?" Gilbert asked, picking up his smirk again. "It's not every day that you get a chance to go out with someone as awesome as me."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Matthew nodded and continued walking with Alfred, leaving the three alone to talk amongst themselves.

"Man, he's so old school," Alfred laughed as Matthew made a beeline for the tightrope area, having a hard time thinking around Gilbert. "No one's asked someone out like that for maybe 20 years, I've seen it in old movies, but not recently, and that was old fashioned for them."

"Yeah," Matthew muttered and quickly began climbing the ladder, sparing a glance at the trio, who were laughing and talking like nothing was wrong with the world.

* * *

"Alright, here is the plan," Arthur cleared his throat over the others in the rather small room. Matthew was crowded next to a wall with Alfred, who was just joking with Antonio about some random thing that he came up with on the tightrope. Everyone quieted down and Matthew noticed that Gilbert wasn't in the room oddly enough. "There just so happens to be a man with the name of Jillion whom is hording roughly a billion euros in his home while the poor people of Paris can hardly scrape up enough money to live." As usual, their rowdy group expressed their hatred for the man Arthur described and Matthew even frowned with distaste.

"Tonight, after our first performance, we'll send the acrobats in to scope it out," Francis explained, the group quieting down and Alfred puffed his chest out proudly and Matthew rolled his eyes. "After our second performance, Antonio et moi will set things up for us. And after our third, we will take the money and leave quickly the next day."

"As for spreading out the money to the people of Paris," Arthur stated, "I will go with Francis and Matthew, as all of us know French and can blend in easily enough. Remember, never make a scene. We are, after all, just a travelling circus bringing joy to our audiences."

"And regarding our new addition," Francis talked over the conversations that began after that last sentence. "For now, he cannot know what we are doing. His act will start while we are in Brussels and we will see how trustworthy he is before we include him in our exploits."

"Well, that's a bummer," Antonio muttered.

"Which means keep Feli and Antonio away from him," Arthur said clearly. "I know neither of you can keep a secret." Everyone in the room laughed, including Feliciano and Antonio. It was all in good humor and they were all family so no one took anything like that too seriously. "Our show is in a few hours, I suggest you practice. We have our good name to uphold."

With that, people started to leave the room, making it less crowded and allowing Matthew space to breathe. Alfred went to talk with Arthur more about the mission and Matthew slipped out of the room, tempted to go back to the tightrope, but he knew he should rest a little bit before his performance. Maybe he could talk to Ivan about if they wanted to change their routine a little. Just as Matthew entered the main dome, just after a few other performers, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Oi! Mattie!" Gilbert called out to him and ran up to him. Matthew had to admit that he felt a little awkward around the albino since he denied being asked out, but Gilbert didn't seem to care at all. "Where did everyone go? All of a sudden, I was alone for a while."

"Oh, it was just a meeting on the performance today," Matthew lied easily. He'd had to lie many times before and it just came out easily at this point. "I heard your act will be starting once we're in Belgium, so I guess you could rest up tonight, or you could watch it if you want to."

Gilbert hummed in agreement. "Hey, do you know if we're going to Germany any time?" he asked suddenly and Matthew blinked in confusion.

"Um, I think so," Matthew shrugged. He'd gotten a brief glance at the route they'd be taking, but he wasn't completely sure about what he saw, since their routes would sometimes change, depending on how careful they were when they brought the money out to the public. "That might be after Belgium. Why?"

"Oh, I just have some family there, is all," Gilbert shrugged, frowning slightly before slipping back into his smirk. "So, you think any more about going on a date with me?"

"My answer is still the same," Matthew stated, looking beyond Gilbert to see Ivan. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to talk to Ivan about our act."

"Sure," Gilbert shrugged and continued on his way, out of the main dome and Matthew went to talk to Ivan

"Is that one giving you trouble?" Ivan asked , looking around Matthew and to where Gilbert had gone.

"No, of course not," Matthew shook his head and Ivan nodded before putting on that usual smile he always had. It apparently creeped a lot of people out, Alfred included (though he would say that he was feeling voodoo vibes or some shit), but Matthew didn't really mind. Sure, he was a little scared of Ivan at first, but now that he'd really gotten to know him, he liked him a lot. "I figured we should talk about our act and if we wanted to change anything before everything started."

"I haven't thought of it a lot," Ivan hummed and looked as though he were thinking through a few things he wanted to change. "I guess we could-"

"Brother, why are you talking to him instead of me?" Natalia's harsh voice cut in and Ivan visibly winced, looking towards his sister in something that almost looked like terror. And Matthew would believe it if it were terror. He was surprised that Natalia wasn't their knife thrower. Then again, Arthur did ban her from the knives after the last time she had nearly killed Alfred for _trying_ to punch Ivan.

"We were simply talking about our act, sister," Ivan said simply and with that smile shakily on his face. Matthew looked over at where Natalia was and squeaked a little in terror at the mechanical big cat she was standing on top of. Ivan appeared a little scared as well.

"You should do an act with me," she said stoicly, having the cat walk towards them. "I'm sure Arthur would allow it if we both asked."

"Maybe we should talk about this later," Matthew gave his friend a sympathetic smile, patting his mechanical arm. "I'll go find Al or something."

Ivan shot him a look and Matthew smiled sheepishly before quickly ducking away from possibly the two craziest siblings in the whole circus. As much as he liked Ivan as a friend, he wasn't about to be the reason Natalia couldn't talk to him. Last time that happened, he had to put makeup on the scars for the rest of their travels.

* * *

**Oh, Natalia and Ivan. I love their dynamic and feel so, so bad for Ivan, but what can you do? Anyway, we learned something about our little circus here. I like to think of them as a little Robin Hood troupe with Arthur in charge, of course! Just so you know, there is a lot of backstory here that I will get to eventually, I just don't think flashbacks will do well with this story, so we just have to wait until they're said out loud.**

**In any case, please review! It's totally awesome!**


	4. Chapter 4

Matthew was perched carefully on the roof of the mansion, keeping a wary eye out for any police hovercars. He was the lightest and quickest out of all of the acrobats, including Kiku and Feliciano. Especially Alfred. He made quick footing of the roof and swiftly ducked into the opened window, thankful that Kiku had kept his promise and shut off the security in good time. It was people like this that always made Matthew mad. They kept their riches at home, rather than trusting the bank or something with it. He stepped onto the lush carpet with bare feet, shoes were too much of a risk, and swiftly ran out of the room and into a hallway. He carefully checked doors, opening and closing them silently.

Finally, when he opened a door and was met with a loud snore, Matthew smirked victoriously. He barely even glimpsed at their target, a fat old man that had a young, blonde, gold digger sleeping beside him with no clothes on. Matthew rolled his eyes and silently looked through the room, looking for anything that he could use as a clue or a way to get into a safe. Then he would have to find it.

He noticed the man's pudgy arm resting outside of the bed, pointing to the adjacent wall. Matthew looked at the wall and found that it was completely blank. A dead giveaway. He smirked as he swiftly walked up to it, running the pads of his fingers over the wall and listening carefully to hear a slight breeze that told him it was fake, with a hidden room behind it. As he ran his hand along it, he eventually heard a soft beep come from a part of the wall. With careful concentration, Matthew retraced his hand until he heard it again. Upon closer inspection, he could see greasy fingerprints on that part of the wall, which meant it was a scanner.

Matthew nodded at his information and resisted the urge to just take the money now, but he would first have to report his findings to Arthur in order to find out what to do next. Besides, Kiku's hacking skills gave him a limited time to get in and out. Matthew silently ducked out of the room, closing the door before racing down the hallway. A door suddenly creaked in front of him and he stopped dead in his tracks as light pooled in from the room as a little kid emerged from the room. Thinking quickly, Matthew silently used the nearby table to jump to the ceiling, holding onto a part of the decoration that stuck out and clinging to the wall.

The kid yawned and walked underneath him before thumping down the stairs, most likely to the kitchen. Matthew let out a silent sigh of relief before he jumped down and ran for his entrance window, which doubled as his escape route. In just a matter of seconds, he was back on the roof and let out a low whistle, waiting until he heard the same one back before he climbed over the edge of the tall house and jumped down, landing perfectly between the other three acrobats with him.

"There's a blank wall on one side of his bedroom," Matthew explained quietly. "It's got a fingerprint sensor on it that I'm sure is for his hand."

"Good, now let's get the hell outta here," Alfred nodded and the four raced over the large yard until they reached the gate, each of them using their own way to get over it. Alfred simply climbed while Matthew pushed off the ground with his hands and flipped over it. Kiku gripped onto the top of it and flipped over and Feliciano was able to slide between the bars. And then they were running back to the circus grounds, Alfred and Matthew laughing as they pushed each other into trees as they ran.

* * *

Matthew stretched his arms happily above his head as they returned to the grounds of the circus, walking towards the dome that he and Alfred had claimed as their own.

"So, what was the guy like?" Alfred asked, nudging his "brother" as they walked together, already having said their parting words to Kiku and Feliciano. "Was he a total douche bag?"

"He was fat," Matthew recalled. "The blonde naked in his bed wasn't half bad looking, though. His son was equally as fat and I know for a fact that the blonde wasn't his mother. The décor in the house is obviously extremely expensive and good quality. He only uses his money for himself. Arthur made a good choice."

"As usual," Alfred rolled his eyes. "I swear the old man just Googles rich people in his spare time to find our next target."

"He's not that old, Alfred," Matthew giggled.

"He's at least double my age," Alfred stated. "And he's always telling me what to do. He's like my mom or something."

"Well, out of the two of them, it seems like Arthur does a few more womanly things," Matthew mused.

"Oh, please, Francy Pants can't stop going on about his hair and his clothes," Alfred rolled his eyes. "And he cooks all the time."

"Because Arthur set our kitchen on fire last time he tried," Matthew pointed out. "Besides, Feli and Lovi help him out in the kitchen all the time. And I help with breakfast."

"Because your pancakes can never be beat!" Alfred laughed. "Damn, I've missed those. I never do it right, what's your secret?"

"I make them by scratch, Al," Matthew laughed.

"Oi, I've been lookin' for you two since the show ended!" Gilbert barked behind them and Matthew glanced back to see the albino rushing towards them, around the few performers that were still straggling at this late hour.

"Sorry, we were busy looking after the animals," Matthew lied with a slight chuckle. "They're hard to keep maintenance on and so we help out the girls a lot."

"Yeah," Gilbert muttered slowly, not believing it much.

"You needed something?" Alfred asked with an obvious and fake yawn that was meant to send the message that he didn't want to talk with Gilbert.

"Well, I've never seen you guys perform before and that was fucking awesome," Gilbert cracked a grin and Matthew blushed slightly in appreciation. He'd already had a lot of people from the audience give them compliments, but that was when he was filled with euphoria and confidence. Now…he was vulnerable to being embarrassed. "Mattie, you looked like a bird or something. Hey, that's a great idea!"

"What is?" Matthew asked.

"I'll call ya Birdie!" Gilbert smirked and Matthew's blush deepened. He was thankful for the dim lighting so neither of the men in his presence could see it. "I think it's an awesome nickname if I do say so myself."

"Sure," Alfred sighed heavily, leaning equally as heavily on Matthew, nearly making the smaller of the two fall over.

"Fat ass," Matthew muttered before turning his attention back to Gilbert. "Well, uh, thanks, then. I look forward to seeing your act when we're in Belgium. I'm sure it'll be…awesome."

"Oh, it will," Gilbert smirked. "You shoulda seen Yao's face when he was told that he'd be my assistant! Gott, it was hilarious! It almost makes me want to nick him with a knife or two."

"Is that all?" Alfred asked. "I'm beat and I just wanna sleep with my little bro."

"Okay, even if we were brothers," Matthew easily ducked out of the way of the noogie Alfred was attempting to give him, "which we're not, we would be twins and I would be the older one. Remember how I was born three days before you?"

"Yeah, yeah, shaddup," Alfred grumbled.

"Just wanted to check and see if Birdie changed his mind about my offer yet," Gilbert shrugged nonchalantly and Matthew froze before clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Still a no," Matthew sighed. He was being oddly persistent, as if he was expecting Matthew to go weak at the knees for him or something. Maybe it was the concussion or something. They didn't have any medical equipment, really, to help him and they didn't have enough money to go to a hospital so Gilbert would just have to wait it out before he got better. "Sorry, eh?"

"Night, then," Gilbert turned to walk away with wave of his hand.

"Mattie," Alfred smirked, leaning close to his brother.

"What?" Matthew asked, squeaking slightly.

"Do you like him?" Alfred asked slyly.

"Wh-what?" Matthew snapped, stepping away from his "brother". "Of course not! Wh-what would make you think that?"

"The way you blush and mumble more around him than anyone else," Alfred shrugged simply, tugging his brother towards their dome.

"I'm just shy around new people," Matthew protested.

"Oh, come on, you think he's hot," Alfred let out a barking laugh and Matthew flinched at the amount of people that looked their way. "I saw the way you were looking at him earlier today. Come on, there's nothing you can hide from your big bro!"

"You're not older," Matthew muttered. "And if I did like him, then I would have taken up his offer, no matter how old fashioned."

"Or maybe you're just saying no because you're too nervous," Alfred laughed, pulling Matthew into their dome and waiting until the canopy closed. "You definitely like him. I can tell."

"No, Al, I don't," Matthew sighed. "He's obnoxious and loud and apparently can't understand the meaning of no."

"And he's sexy and good at throwing knives and muscular," Alfred laughed. "I won't judge you, don't worry. He's not too bad of a person, though I can agree on the points you made. But I gotta know more about his past because he's seriously old fashioned and I gotta know why, dude."

"Maybe you're the one that has a crush on him," Matthew laughed slightly, shaking his head. "I never noticed his muscles."

"Never thought of him with his shirt off?"

"No," Matthew hummed. "Have you?"

"Just because I'm gay, too, doesn't mean I think of every guy with his shirt off," Alfred rolled his eyes.

"Just Gilbert," Matthew smirked and Alfred groaned.

"I'm trying to get you to realize your feelings," Alfred grumbled. "I don't have any of my own."

"Hm?" Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Who do you have feelings for, then? Ivan?"

"Fuck no," Alfred snapped. "So what if his metal arms are cool? I've seen the stumps when those things are taken off, I'd rather not fuck that. Besides, he a Commie asshole."

"And you say Gil's old fashioned," Matthew laughed. "No one's called Russians Commies in years, Alfred."

"Just wait until they start nuclear warfare!" Alfred snapped. "Then America's gonna be forced to step in like the badass it is and kick it's ass, but then the nukes would make the world uninhabitable. Like Chernobyl."

"I'll make sure I tell Ivan about that," Matthew laughed before ducking down, into the stairs that lead to their "underground area".

"Are you serious, dude?" Alfred whined, following him. "He'd set his metal arm to 'kill' and aim it at me!"

"Do you think it's a laser or something?" Matthew laughed, trying to run ahead of Alfred, but was quickly hoisted by his waist and so Matthew had to resort to punching his "brother". "Help!" Matthew called out, unable to hide his laughter. "I'm being forced into incest!"

"Should I get my camera?" Elizaveta poked her head around the corner and Matthew froze, a blush deepening on his face and Alfred took that as his advantage to pin Matthew to the ground, effectively knocking the wind out of the poor boy.

"I saw this thing on an old movie and it looked fucking hilarious," Alfred grew a wicked grin before dangling his drool above Matthew's face.

"No!" Matthew desperately tried to get out of his hold. "That's so gross, Al! Why the hell would you do that!" Alfred just laughed and continued, drooping it closer to Matthew's face while the smaller of the two desperately tried to get away. "3 seconds and I knee you in the balls."

Alfred raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge, as if to say "you don't have the guts."

Matthew didn't hesitate to slam his knee between Alfred's legs.

* * *

**I'm so happy I never had a brother. So, so happy. Anyway, I'm still in love with the brotherly relationship and I've never played around with it before, but it unfolds nicely on its own, thanks to Alfred, mostly.**

**Anyway, I think there'll only be two more chapters, at most, in Paris and then they'll move to a new city.**

**Please review! It's what I feed off of.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Mesdames et messieurs!" Arthur announced loudly as Matthew collected himself at the top of the podium that lead to the tightrope. "Les frères Jones!" Alfred bowed next to him and Matthew did the same, panting heavily but still enjoying the feeling he got from performing. He still couldn't believe he'd managed to land that hard move Alfred convinced him to do, but it was worth it.

"Let's head down," Alfred muttered quietly and Matthew nodded, following him down the ladder.

"Merci, merci," Arthur chuckled, filling his act as the ring master perfectly with a cocky air about him. Matthew and Alfred rushed out of the dome, just brushing past Natalia and Katyusha as they did.

"Damn, this doesn't get any easier," Alfred laughed slightly as they started walking quickly towards their own dome, done for the night. "But you totally nailed that move, Mattie!"

"I nearly fell every time I jumped," Matthew shook his head. "I'm lucky I didn't fall, then they would have asked for a refund or something."

"We should do an act like that," Alfred mused and, suddenly, his eyes were filled with his usual, boyish excitement. "Like, one of us dives for the net and manages to jump off of it, doing flips and stuff and sticks the landing the ground, and we can make it look purposeful!"

"That would work, if we did our acts with the net," Matthew sighed. "We only practice with the net, if you forgot that."

"Well, we don't fall often," Alfred shrugged. "But we should totally try that, dude! Like, we find some way to have us fall and then we have someone like Ivan catch us or something and that would be totally awesome! Just imagine the uproar of the crowd!"

"As long as we don't die," Matthew said as they entered their dome before quickly entering the underground, the small crowd there applauding them. Elizaveta swiftly ran up to them, a bright smile on her face.

"That was wonderful, you two!" Elizaveta said, clasping her hands together. "I see you finally managed to nail that move."

"We didn't even get it in practice," Matthew rolled his eyes, glaring at Alfred. "He just insisted that we did it and hoped for the best. He's lucky neither of us died."

"That's just the charm of the circus, right?" Elizaveta giggled. "Death-defying stunts and daredevils are a part of the attraction!"

"That's what I said!" Alfred whined. "Mattie's just a wuss that's not even proud of his own abilities."

"I know my limits, Al," Matthew sighed, elbowing his brother. "But we made it and hopefully we can practice it more now that we know we can do it without falling. And trust me, you're still gonna work while I'm out helping Arthur and Francis."

"But I getta rest on our trip to Brussels, right?" Alfred nearly pleaded.

"Depending on how good your practice is," Matthew smirked. "If it's not up to par to what I expect, I'll make sure you run laps on our transport."

"Like you could make me run," Alfred scoffed.

"I still have that old hockey stick," Matthew laughed and Alfred paled slightly, but tried not to show it. "Don't make me use it. And I still stay in shape by playing hockey when I'm home."

"You play hockey?" Gilbert laughed from the small group and Matthew blushed slightly before looking towards his brother, who just gave him a knowing smirk and Matthew glared at him. "A scrawny guy like you? No way?"

"Just because people who play the sport are muscular doesn't mean I have to be," Matthew rolled his eyes, looking back at the albino, who was leaning happily against a chair, his feet propped up on a table that he had called "awesome" just the day before. "Besides, if I'm small, that means I can make it around the big guys and make my shot easier."

"I'd like you see you try," Gilbert laughed. "You'd get hit once and break half of your bones!"

"I can hit harder than you think," Matthew said smugly.

"You can take my word on that one," Alfred smirked. "I've been hit by him more than my fair share of times."

"I had to learn how to defend myself from you somehow," Matthew smiled.

"If only you two didn't consider yourselves brothers," Elizaveta sighed heavily, almost dreamily and both "brothers" rolled their eyes.

"She was trying to get me with that Feli kid a little while ago," Gilbert laughed. "Oi, you seen Toni or Franny? Their acts should have ended a while ago."

"Arthur sent them on an errand," Alfred shrugged, walking over to slump onto a chair across from Gilbert. "I didn't really pay much attention, since we were about to go on."

"That sucks ass," Gilbert muttered. "They should've asked me to come with 'em."

"Guess it was urgent," Matthew said simply.

"You think any more about going out with me?" Gilbert asked casually and Matthew inwardly groaned. He just had to ask again while Elizaveta was around.

"Oh?" Elizaveta asked with a gleam in her eye, looking at Matthew carefully. "He's asked you?"

"In an extremely old fashioned way, too," Alfred laughed. "You should have seen Mattie's face when he asked! God, it was great!"

"You two would be adorable together!" Elizaveta squealed, rushing over to push Matthew towards Gilbert. "I can't believe I haven't thought about it before! That would be so cute!"

"Um, no," Matthew muttered, moving away from her and she immediately frowned. "I'm not going to do anything with anyone. What I am going to do is change, since I don't have to go on again. And then I'll probably sleep. Al, you can join me whenever you want to."

"I might stay up a bit," Alfred shrugged and Matthew nodded before walking off quickly, to a private room where he could change. That damn blush on his face wouldn't go away, though. He just had to say that around Elizaveta and she just had to say that they were…cute together…

"We wouldn't be cute," Matthew mumbled, entering the room and peeling off his tights.

* * *

"Cute," Matthew muttered under his breath as he walked calmly through Paris, weaving through the crowds and passing the bills of euros to people and disappeared in the crowd before he could see them. He saw a homeless person, leaning against a random building and smiled to him before kneeling down and giving the man a few of the bills without saying a word and stood up to walk through the crowd again. "We wouldn't be cute."

"How are you doing?" Francis asked with a smile, popping out of the crowd randomly. If Matthew weren't used to it, he would have jumped or screamed or something.

"Fine," Matthew nodded. "I don't really talk all that much, so I'm not sure what being able to speak French has anything to do with it."

"Well, you're good at blending in," Francis chuckled as Matthew discreetly passed a few more bills to a sick looking family that passed him. "And you are far too kind. It's very good to have someone with a kind heart looking for people to help."

"How's Arthur doing?" Matthew asked.

"His French still needs help with his accent," Francis sighed heavily. "But he is fine. I need to help him with his accent next time we come here. I only hope his Dutch will be good enough in Brussels."

"I think it sounds fine, but I don't speak Dutch," Matthew shrugged, walking with Francis as they both passed bills on. Matthew's pockets were heavy, but he was wearing an even heavier sweatshirt to hide it all. It was his favorite sweatshirt, and old, faded red with the old Canadian maple leaf flag plastered on the front. It was fine for hiding and a wonderful change from the tights he had to wear so often. "Gilbert's been asking a lot of questions."

"Good, he's not stupid," Francis smiled. "I am not worried. We are all good enough at lying for him to not know anything before it is time."

"As long as you're sure," Matthew sighed, passing a rather large amount to person with no clothes on before shying away with embarrassment.

"I also think that you should give him just one shot," Francis laughed before rushing off into the crowd, dropping a few bills on the ground in the process. Matthew rolled his eyes as people rushed to pick up the bills.

"We definitely wouldn't be cute," Matthew sighed.

* * *

"You are all liars," Gilbert sighed just as Matthew stepped onto the grounds of the circus. In just a few moments, Matthew was pinned against the wall that surrounded the grounds, something that the city always put up to surround them in order to make sure that no one attempted to steal anything from them. Matthew jumped as Gilbert's red eyes glared at him. "Where were you?"

"I-I was looking at Paris," Matthew stuttered slightly, a habit he had been trying very hard to beat for the past five years. "I l-like it here."

"Okay, don't stutter," Gilbert rolled his eyes, but kept Matthew solidly pinned, his face extremely close to Matthew's. "It's not like I'm gonna hurt you. But quit lying."

"I'm not-"

"I can tell," Gilbert stated and Matthew shut his mouth. So Francis underestimated him. "People are disappearing a lot and every time I ask a question, people lie. Feli ran away from me when I asked him what was going on. Tell me."

"There's nothing going on," Matthew shook his head.

"Don't lie," Gilbert said.

"I'm not," Matthew replied simply. He'd been through a rougher interrogation before, when the police had attempted to frame them and let's just say, Matthew didn't get a very nice police officer to interrogate him. He wasn't about to break anytime soon.

"You are," Gilbert said, his red eyes smoldering into him.

"Prove it," Matthew said and Gilbert blinked at him. "If you can't, then I know I'm telling the truth. Do you?"

"Why are you lying?"

"Why would I lie to you? This circus is my family and you're a part of it. I have no reason to lie to you. None of us do."

"Then why are you?" Gilbert narrowed his eyes at him. "I know when someone is lying to me, they do it to me a lot. I know you aren't lying when you tell me the year and I know you're not lying when you say this is your family. But I know you're lying when you say nothing is happening. What are you all doing?"

"Are you sure this isn't just your concussion?" Matthew asked smoothly. "Why are you so curious about the year anyway?"

"If you can lie to me, I can lie to you," Gilbert said cooly. "It's nothing important."

"Fine," Matthew sighed. "Then we're done here."

Gilbert sighed, his gaze softening as he pulled back slightly, but not enough to let Matthew escape. "You think any more about what I asked you?"

"You just pinned me and called me a liar and now you're asking if I want to go on a date with you?" Matthew raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"In this line of business, you learn to overlook a few things," Gilbert shrugged. "I've been in this kind of work long enough to know that much."

"You've only been in the circus a few days," Matthew noted.

"And other work a lot longer," Gilbert said. "Now, answer my question."

"Why are you so intent on this?" Matthew asked and Gilbert smirked again, signaling that their other conversation was officially in the past. Matthew was thankful for that, but now it was onto something that he was hoping he wouldn't have to worry about.

"You're cute," Gilbert shrugged. "I've got this thing for cute boys. My brother's got the same thing."

"My answer is still no," Matthew said slowly.

"Then I guess I'll just try again tomorrow," Gilbert winked before he pulled back and turned his back to Matthew. "I look forward to it, Birdie." He waved his hand and Matthew sighed, leaning heavily against the wall behind him.

"You call that cute?" Matthew asked out loud.

* * *

**Aw, Matthew, you're adorable. Gilbert's not the kind to give up, not ever! I'm sure he'll get Matthew to see it his way eventually. And Gilbert knows what's going on? Not really, but he knows something's up. Will he figure it out before he's told? Maybe…**

**Anywho, please review! It's great!**


	6. Chapter 6

Matthew sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching as the tower for the tightrope started to collapse in front of him. He'd pressed the button a short while ago and was surprised how fast the new equipment was putting itself away.

"Brows made me your partner! Lucky you!" Gilbert boasted proudly, slinging an arm around Matthew's shoulders and making the smaller man jump slightly. "Since I've never packed up before, this'll be interesting, huh?"

"Go to the other tower," Matthew said easily, pushing the arm off of him. "There's a button near the ground and all you need to do is press it."

"We get a chance to be alone together and you make me go all the way over there?" Gilbert sighed dramatically and Matthew just nodded, watching as the tower finally fully collapsed on the ground.

"When you're done, there's a button underneath the stage of the tower, it'll make it levitate," Matthew explained as he pressed the button himself and the tower did just as he said.

"Wait, are you serious?" Gilbert looked back with wide eyes before he even made it to the tower. "That's so awesome!"

"And you can do it yourself in a few moments if you got the job done," Matthew said and Gilbert waved his hand absently at him before going behind the other tower. Matthew rolled his eyes and looked out at the other people that were working hard to pack up as quickly as possible. They had to get on the road in order to start their next show in Brussels that night. "You've set up before, right?"

"Who do you think put all of this up before you got here?" Gilbert laughed as the tower began to collapse in front of him.

"Good, then that means you don't need a buddy once we're in Brussels," Matthew smirked and Gilbert looked around his tower with an obvious pout.

"You wanna get rid of me that much?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, you haven't asked me out yet today, so I don't mind you yet," Matthew laughed.

"I was gonna wait for when we were on our way to Belgium," Gilbert laughed. "When you had no chance to escape."

"I may look weak, but I can still kick your ass," Matthew said with a shrug. "If I need to, that is."

"I would love to see your hockey skills in action," Gilbert smirked as the tower finished collapsing and he pressed the button to make it levitate. "How great are you with your flexibility, anyway? I mean with hockey, not in bed."

"Well, I haven't exactly tried out my flexibility in bed, so I wouldn't know about that anyway," Matthew said simply. "And I'm pretty awesome at hockey, I have to admit. Big guys don't expect someone to flip by on the ice, but I've only done that once. Nearly sliced somebody's face with my skate."

"Could I pay to watch you play hockey?" Gilbert cackled.

"Some people do," Matthew hummed. "Come on, we should move these over to the front so they're ready to go. Then we can keep talking about how badass I am at hockey."

"We can walk and talk at the same time," Gilbert shrugged, pushing the levitating tower over to Matthew. "I'm awesome enough to multitask. How about you?"

"I dunno," Matthew shrugged, pushing his own tower towards the entrance of the dome. "It may be too much for my brain to handle all at once."

"Mattie!" Alfred whined, quickly running in front of Matthew just as he stepped out of the dome. "Artie put me in charge of the animals!"

"Okay?" Matthew sighed. "Arthur put me with Gilbert, but you don't see me complaining."

"Are you comparing me to an animal?" Gilbert asked

"I don't wanna deal with Natalia," Alfred hissed, talking quietly like he was afraid of the girl hearing him. "She's nuts! And Ivan won't be there, so she won't have a sensor."

"If you keep her waiting, her wrath will only get worse," Matthew laughed. "And I have other things I have to do. What did you even want me to do about it in the first place?"

"Trade?" Alfred asked hopefully.

"I definitely prefer this animal over yours," Matthew smirked and continued walking, Alfred whining after them.

"I kinda prefer you over him, too," Gilbert laughed.

"I know you do," Matthew muttered. "And my answer for today is still no."

"Even after all of this quality time we've spent together?" Gilbert asked and Matthew rolled his eyes as they reached the place where a lot of other supplies were piled up.

"Check this out," Matthew smiled, picking up a small box and tossing it to the albino, who caught it with a raised eyebrow. "That's our underground."

"Really?" Gilbert stared down at it in interest, tossing it between his hands. "You have the most awesome technology ever."

"Come on, we still have a few more things to pack up," Matthew sighed, walking past him. "Just wait until you see the domes put away."

* * *

Matthew always loved the train rides they took to go from city to city. They moved incredibly fast, but a while ago, Alfred had come up with the idea to ride on top of them. Now, anyone brave enough, about 10 minutes into the trip, would climb through the windows and hang out on the top of the train.

"If you lot get yourselves killed, I'll never forgive you," Arthur said calmly from his seat. He nearly had a heart attack the first time they did it, but now he was so used to it that he would just stay in the train with the people smart enough to not risk their lives on a train ride.

"You always say that," Alfred laughed as he ducked out of the window and Matthew stood beside him.

"Wait, Mathieu," Francis stopped Matthew before he went through, giving Ivan room to follow Alfred.

"Yeah?" Matthew asked, turning to Francis, who had a triumphant smirk on him. "What are you planning?"

"We were too busy for me to try anything in Paris, sadly," Francis shrugged. "Now, a lot of the circus is up on the roof, I may have a chance."

"And you want to talk to me about this why?" Matthew asked. "Couldn't you just tell Toni or Gil about your plans?"

"That is just the thing," Francis sighed. "Gilbert is rather…"

"Obnoxious?" Matthew offered.

"I need you to keep him up there," Francis glanced at the top of the train. He was always too scared to try going up top. "As much as I like him as a friend, he is overbearing and would mess this up."

"Arthur isn't that delicate," Matthew rolled his eyes. "But I'll do it. Don't mess it up again."

"You fail once and everyone doubts you," Francis sighed, shaking his head.

"That one failure nearly broke up the circus," Matthew stated simply and Francis shrugged. "I'm sure Gilbert would want to be on top of the train anyway."

"Don't warn him about the tunnel," Francis laughed, patting Matthew's back.

"You all wanna kill yourselves?" Gilbert laughed, walking up to Matthew just as Francis winked and took a random seat, not too far away from Arthur. "I'm in, but I gotta know why."

"It's for the thrill," Matthew smirked as he began to climb out of the window. The wind rushed past his head, making it hard to hear, but he was used to this. He could already hear people yelling at each other over the wind at the top of the train. "Make sure you don't fall!"

"I thought that part was obvious!" Gilbert shouted back, poking his head out of the window.

"You would think!" Matthew laughed.

"You know, I have a wonderful view of your ass from here!" Gilbert laughed and Matthew rolled his eyes as Alfred's hand stuck out to help Matthew onto the top of the train. Matthew had to kneel down for a little bit to get used to the movements of the train and the speed, but he was soon able to stand up on his own.

"What the hell did Francy Pants want?!" Alfred shouted over the wind.

"He's gonna try again with Arthur!" Matthew explained and Alfred shrugged.

"Guess I shouldda expected that!"

"What? I don't get a hand?" Gilbert shouted and Matthew laughed while he watched Gilbert scramble onto the top of the train. "Jerks!"

"Thanks! I try!" Alfred laughed while Gilbert stumbled slightly before standing up with them. Matthew glanced back at the rest of the people that were on top of the train with them. Natalia was clinging to Ivan as if she would fall, which Matthew knew for a fact she wouldn't. Kiku was talking to Feliciano and Lovino was nearby to make sure his brother didn't do anything stupid. Elizaveta was with Roderich, who seemed rather terrified. Quite a few others were around and the only truly smart people were left inside of the train, like Yao, Arthur, Francis, and Antonio. Antonio was really only smart enough to realize he would fall off if he tried coming on top of the train.

"How fast do these things go?" Gilbert asked.

"Two to three hundred miles an hour!" Alfred laughed. "It's fucking great!"

"And how are we staying on?" Gilbert asked.

"They design these trains with a special field around them!" Matthew explained. "They know people are stupid and go on top of them! It's almost magnetic, keeps us staying on, even if they take a sudden turn! But we all know this route so well, we could do it with our eyes closed!"

"Which means I'm the only one that's fucked!" Gilbert shook his head and Matthew laughed. Alfred nudged him with a knowing look and Matthew glared at him. The train took a sharp turn that everyone except Gilbert was prepared for. Both Matthew and Alfred reached out to grab onto Gilbert's arms as he stumbled backwards.

"Yes, you are!" Matthew nodded.

"You two can keep flirting while I go talk with Feli!" Alfred laughed and Matthew's face turned a bright red while Gilbert cackled.

"We're not-" Matthew couldn't even continue while Gilbert laughed up a storm next to him. "We're not!" Matthew turned to Gilbert, who put up a hand while he continued to laugh, holding onto his stomach.

"I can't!" Gilbert cackled. "Oh, Gott! I can't! That's hilarious!"

"I'll push you off!" Matthew threatened and smirked when he realized Gilbert's back was towards the direction they were going. And he could see the old, brick tunnel coming up. "Or worse!"

"Kinky," Gilbert smirked, his voice quiet enough so that Matthew had to read his lips. His face burned an even brighter crimson.

"Don't bump your head!" Matthew advised and Gilbert looked like he was about to say something, but the tunnel came too quickly and Matthew ducked down quickly. Gilbert, meanwhile, shouted and cursed before he fell down clumsily and Matthew laughed. "Serves you right!" He shouted over the excited screams of the people on top of the train.

"Fuck you!" Gilbert shouted, but Matthew heard him laugh through the darkness that he could barely see through. "You saw that coming!"

"It's your fault for having your back in the direction we're moving!" Matthew laughed and they finished going through the tunnel, light flooding around them and he saw Gilbert sprawled on his back, pouting at him. "Want me to help you up?"

"Can I trust you?" Gilbert laughed and Matthew held out his hand for him.

"Absolutely not," Matthew laughed, helping the man to his feet. "I work for the circus, after all."

* * *

**They are so flirting. I have no idea how to stop it, but they're flirting. And it's adorable. Gilbert may just get his "old fashioned" date after all. Anywho, they are now packed up from Paris and on their way to Brussels!**

**Anywho, please review! It's totally awesome!**


	7. Chapter 7

Brussels, Belgium

"Dames en Heren!" Arthur announced proudly. "De Jones Broers!"

"Your pronunciation needs some help, old man!" Alfred shouted over the crowd as Arthur said the same thing in French and English while Matthew punched him to get him to go down the ladder. "What? It's true!"

"Then make fun of him later," Matthew rolled his eyes. "He has to work and you have another act to go on."

"And then we get to break into some other dick's house," Alfred laughed as they reached the bottom of the ladder, but it was lost in the crowd as Natalia and Katyusha came in with the robotic cats. "I bet this one's fat, too."

"Probably," Matthew shrugged, following his brother out of the main dome. Gilbert was just outside of it, testing out his knives for his first show while Yao nervously paced beside him. Gilbert waved to them and Matthew nodded in turn.

"You gonna watch, Birdie?" Gilbert called over to him.

"I'll see it underground," Matthew assured him. They had a small screen there to see the acts while taking a break and that was just what Matthew intended to do. He liked watching the knife acts and he was sure Gilbert would be entertaining to watch with something like that. He was an attention hog, so that meant having all eyes on him would make him in his element.

"Not in person?" Gilbert pouted, a hand over his heart. Then looked at Matthew curiously. "You wanna go out with me yet?"

"Still no," Matthew chuckled and Alfred walked ahead of him, walking backwards to face him.

"Why the hell do you keep saying no?" Alfred asked and Matthew raised an eyebrow at him.

"Because I don't want to go out with him?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, don't lie, you definitely do," Alfred smirked. "You wanna feel those muscles and go through old fashioned dates like carriage rides in the park and making out in the moonlight."

"I'm not a teenage girl from 2012, Al," Matthew rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to go out with him. He's self-centered and not my type."

"Your type?" Al snorted. "Your type is tall, fairly muscular, self-confident, funny."

"I also like tan, with glasses, bright blue eyes, and a stupid cowlick," Matthew laughed and started running when Alfred tried to tackle him.

"It's not stupid!" Alfred shouted after him, but Matthew was faster and reached the underground before him, ducking easily behind Lovino, who just gave him a confused look before Alfred bounded after him.

"Don't put me in the middle of this, you fucking idiot!" Lovino snapped, but Matthew kept him in place and Alfred stuck his tongue out at them. "I don't want to deal with your incest."

"It's not technically incest," Matthew pointed out with a light smile and Alfred crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot in front of him. "Like that'll make me move."

"The only reason I'm not still going for you is because of what happened last time Lovi got caught in the crossfire," Alfred sighed before slumping down in a chair.

"There, now stop using me as a fucking shield, bastard," Lovino grumbled and Matthew laughed, backing off. Antonio poked his head into the room, still fully dressed in his costume that always made the "Jones brothers" laugh. The two snickered while Antonio smiled.

"What has you two in good moods?" Antonio asked, tilting his head to the side while the old headdress nearly fell over and the two laughed even harder.

"It's because you look like an idiot," Lovino stated gruffly.

"Oh, look, Gil's on," Alfred said and Matthew's interest piqued, looking at the screen immediately, but found that Natalia and Katyusha were still on. "Ha! You're so excited to see his muscular bod toss those knives, aren't you?"

"Shut up," Matthew muttered, kicking Alfred over in his chair, causing the taller of the two to tumble onto the floor. "We haven't had a knife thrower in a while and I'm just curious."

"I'm interested, too," Antonio piped up. "I mean, he is very skilled in practice, but I want to see how he acts around a crowd!"

"I'm not the only one," Matthew glared at Alfred, who put his hands up in surrender as he stood up, kicking the chair up with him.

"Though, it wouldn't do any harm to go out with him," Antonio shrugged and Matthew groaned, leaning back in his chair.

"First Francis, now you?" Matthew sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Why are you so intent on this?"

"He is my close friend!" Antonio laughed. "He seems really interested in you, he even talks about you differently than the other stories he's had from the past. He is very old fashioned, but that is the only downside, really. And it's not much of a downside."

"Maybe it's all this pushing that's making me not want to do it," Matthew muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Finally, Arthur announced Gilbert's act. Gilbert was even cockier than he was in person, but Matthew was sure that it was because of the screaming crowd. He helped Yao secure to the target that was floating just a foot off of the ground and Gilbert smirked once he was far away, next to the knives. Matthew knew that the man had named his knives, based on how much he liked them, and it just made him laugh as he threw the first one expertly.

The crowd was silent as it soared through the air, the electricity striking the air around it before it landed a good few inches from Yao's side.

"Not very exciting, if you ask me," Alfred shrugged as some of the crowd applauded. But Matthew saw the smirk on Gilbert's face that told him that was just the beginning. Just as he threw the second one, the target Yao was on began to move. The knife aimed at what looked like the same spot as the last one wound up nearly hitting Yao's other side. "It's not…too special. Plenty of knife throwers move their targets."

"Oh, just wait," Antonio hummed happily, staring intently at the screen. As Gilbert threw the next one, the target started to spin. Yao jumped slightly, but other than that, he seemed used to it. The knife landed between Yao's legs.

"How many times did he miss that shot?" Alfred laughed.

"With the dummy? About 10," Antonio laughed and Alfred visibly paled, looking at the man. "There's a reason we practice with fake people sometimes!" Antonio just laughed harder and Alfred flinched and Matthew continued to look at the screen. Gilbert had turned his back to the target now, which was still moving and spinning, though now erratically and Yao sighed heavily, closing his eyes tightly. Gilbert smirked, holding the handle of the knife with two fingers as the electricity crackled next to his head. Gilbert took a deep breath before throwing it backwards. It landed just above Yao's head.

"Holy shit," Alfred muttered as the crowd started cheering, much louder now. Gilbert laughed, almost seeming like he didn't expect to make that shot. Gilbert shook out his arms before taking all three of the knives remaining at once, in one hand and used the other hand to cover his eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Oh, I didn't think he'd be doing that one tonight," Antonio mused. "Interesting." Gilbert poised his hand up, the handles of the electric knives held between his fingers. Matthew noticed that their charges were intermittent, and they were connected. He had no idea the knives could do that. And Gilbert threw them. They moved away from each other slightly and the electric charge between them created a triangle twice before they slammed into the target, one to either of Yao's sides and one between his legs. As soon as they hit it, the charges left them, like all of the others and Matthew let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Damn," Alfred muttered while the crowd cheered happily. Gilbert laughed and waved to them before jogging to Yao, who looked like he was yelling at them. Arthur stood between them, looking rather shaken, but smiled to the crowd anyway and announced them again as Gilbert bowed happily. Yao rolled his eyes. "Looks like neither Yao or Arthur knew Gilbert would do that last one!" Alfred laughed.

"Gilbert likes to take people by surprise," Antonio laughed. "He practiced an entirely different routine with Yao earlier today and told Arthur an entirely different one."

"What an ass," Alfred muttered.

"He could've killed him if he wasn't careful," Lovino grumbled, barely glanced at the screen before leaving the room. "I'm going to sleep."

"Sweet dreams, Lovi!" Antonio called after him and Lovino cursed in response before a door slammed closed.

"Still think he's perfect for me, Al?" Matthew asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded thoughtfully. "He'd keep you on your toes, that's for sure."

"God, you're stupid," Matthew sighed, standing up from his seat, staring at the screen as Kiku and Feliciano started their trapeze act. "I'm gonna go for a quick walk."

"Don't go running off to make out with your boyfriend in the night," Alfred laughed and Matthew punched his arm before walking to their dome's entrance to the underground. "Use protection!"

"Antonio, if you could make him disappear, that would be great," Matthew sighed and Antonio laughed. "Or maybe just find a way to make his mouth stop working."

"I should try that one!" Antonio laughed. "Thanks for the idea!"

"Mattie!" Alfred whined and Matthew quickly made his way into their dome before walking into the night air, sighing slightly. The night was so peaceful in small countries like Belgium and he watched lights move their way across the night sky, hovercars being their source.

"Hey, Gil," Matthew said as he saw Gilbert and Yao walk by them. Gilbert waved to him and Yao continued on his way with a huff. "You're an ass, you know that, right?"

"I just keep people on their toes," Gilbert laughed. "Yao lived and they'll get over it. Any other reason for coming out to meet me in the middle of the night?"

"People need to get their minds out of the gutter," Matthew rolled his eyes. "It was your first performance and it was pretty good, I just wanted to congratulate you."

"You wanna give me a congratulations kiss?" Gilbert smirked, leaning close to him and Matthew stepped back. He felt a blush rise to his face when he thought about what he was going to say next and took a deep breath.

"One date," Matthew stated and Gilbert blinked in surprise at him. "Just one. Tomorrow. Noon."

"Well, you're pretty straight forward, aren't you?" Gilbert smirked. "What if I was going to be busy tomorrow?"

"You aren't," Matthew rolled his eyes. "I'll be in the open room underground. If you're late, I'm not waiting for you."

"Is this the not old-fashioned way to do this sort of thing?" Gilbert laughed and Matthew rolled his eyes again.

"You should know how it's done," Matthew muttered, the blush still very present on his cheeks. He swiftly turned around, back to his and his brother's dome. "Anyway. Good job tonight."

"Thanks," Gilbert said and Matthew could practically _hear_ the smirk. "I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Whatever," Matthew muttered, walking into the dome and letting out a very long sigh. He figured that, since Gilbert obviously wouldn't leave him alone, and he wasn't too bad of a person (and, as Alfred pointed out, pretty much his type) he should give him at least one try. He just had to live with the embarrassment of Gilbert boasting it to the entire circus before they left and after they came back.

* * *

**This chapter was hard for me…Why? I have no idea. Anyway, that was Gil's first night and he has an…interesting method to keep everyone interested. And…Mattie's agreed to go out with him! OMFG! All of the fangirls can die from nosebleeds now. Including Elizaveta.**

**Anywho, please review! It's totes awesome!**


	8. Chapter 8

Matthew was nervous. He was tempted to just leave and not even wait for Gilbert. The teasing he had expected never came, surprisingly, and there was no one in the little room underground. Everyone was practicing, including Alfred, another person that would give him grief for this, and the only reason Matthew got out of it was because he told Alfred he was feeling sick and ran to "sleep it off." So, now Matthew was forced to wait in awkward silence for noon to roll around and then Gilbert would be his obnoxious self and the day would go on forever.

"Awesome, you're early, too," Gilbert laughed behind Matthew, who jumped slightly at his loud entrance. "That would've been awkward if I had to wait for you to come around." He still bore his usual smirk and Matthew rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh. Matthew was once again in comfortable, baggy clothing and Gilbert was in casual clothes as well, obviously having changed from practicing earlier.

"Whatever, let's just…go," Matthew mumbled, silently cursing the blush that was showing up on his face at the idea of going on a date. He could only assume how old-fashioned it would be with Gilbert, but he was a little curious.

"You have an adorable blush, you know that?" Gilbert smirked and Matthew looked away quickly. "Come on," Gilbert laughed, grabbing hold of Matthew's arm and quickly running up into his own dome and then out, onto the circus grounds. Matthew barely kept up with him as he ran to the exit. There were a few curious people around the city looking at it, but there was a clear sign that said the show didn't start for a while, so most of them just walked away, some thinking about stopping by later.

Gilbert laughed as they ran through the city and he looked increasingly interested as he saw more. He pointed out how awesome the flying cars were and seemed to be desperately searching for…something. When Matthew asked him, he didn't even say anything, just looking around, biting his bottom lip. Finally, they reached a small, historic park, a rare sight, with bright green grass and trees and even a small river that started and stopped in the park.

"Awesome," Gilbert laughed, pushing Matthew under a tree. "I'll be right back, don't move."

"What are you doing?" Matthew asked but Gilbert just ran off on his own, leaving Matthew alone, under a tree. Matthew almost wished he watched as many old movies as Alfred, then maybe he'd know what Gilbert was doing, since he was so old-fashioned. Alfred would be able to guess and then proceed to tease Matthew mercilessly about the idea in general. Matthew leaned against the tree, finding the feeling of the bark weird after a short while and then sat in the grass, which also felt weird. Sure, there were trees and grass everywhere, otherwise there would be no air, but Matthew didn't really see them much, let alone go near them. He was always with the circus, practicing, and they never really went into parks, and he lived in a busy city when he wasn't with the circus. Cities normally didn't have parks, or at least they weren't noticeable.

Matthew watched people bustle around the city, some giving him odd looks at being alone in this park. Some people walked through, but none of them strayed from the concrete path, though there was no rule about it. A few children stared at Matthew as they passed and he sheepishly waved at them. After a short while, Gilbert came back wordlessly, holding a smirk on his face, and a blanket and old basket in his hands. Gilbert winked at him before setting down the basket and spreading the blanket out in front of him and Matthew just stared at him before laughing slightly.

"This is your big date idea?" Matthew laughed and Gilbert nodded proudly, kicking the old basket onto the blanket. "An old picnic?"

"I figured since you're so out of touch with the old way of things," Gilbert smirked, holding out a hand to help Matthew up, which the smaller of the two carefully took, "then I'd show you what you're missing. Awesome plan, right?"

"It's funny," Matthew noted as he sat down on the blanket. It didn't feel as weird as the grass, at least, "you use the word awesome more when you're nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Gilbert stated. "I'm never nervous. I'm awesome."

"You are definitely nervous," Matthew laughed. "Am I that intimidating?"

"Whatever, I'm not nervous," Gilbert sighed, sitting down and leaning back on his hands. "And if I was, it would be perfectly reasonable because of all the build up to this date, since you kept on shutting me down."

"Prove to me that you're not nervous," Matthew smirked. "Get this date started."

Gilbert stuck out his tongue at Matthew before opening the basket and immediately pulling out a plate of…pancakes?

"Pancakes?" Matthew asked, eyeing them carefully. They looked better than any of the pancakes people he knew attempted to make, maybe Gilbert made them the old-fashioned way.

"We didn't have any this morning," Gilbert shrugged. "It was definitely not awesome, since we have them every morning and I fucking love pancakes and I learned that you're the one that makes them and you do an awesome job, so I figured you liked pancakes, too. And since we didn't have any today, I'd figured you'd be missing them so I made these after breakfast."

"Are you serious?" Matthew asked, looking closer at the pancakes. They were covered to keep them fresh, but they were still steaming.

"Hell yeah," Gilbert boasted proudly, pulling out two plates for them, followed by utensils and then…maple syrup. Matthew bit his lip, looking between the pancakes and Gilbert before ripping off the cover of the pancakes and taking half of the pile in one go. Gilbert laughed while Matthew poured the maple syrup onto the pancakes. Somehow, Gilbert had managed to find Matthew's stash of syrup that he brought from Canada, and Matthew was greedily using it. He had missed pancakes this morning, but he was too nervous to make them. No one else really complained… "Are you really sure you're going to eat all of that?"

Matthew eyed him carefully, looking at the pancakes he left behind. "I'm sure that if you don't start eating your share, I'll move onto that soon."

"Go figure, you and Alfred eat the same amount," Gilbert laughed, taking a more "reasonable" amount of pancakes from the stack. Matthew was already a quarter finished with his by the time Gilbert had poured what was left of the maple syrup. "So you do like pancakes."

"Shut up," Matthew muttered after swallowing the majority of the food he'd managed to shovel into his mouth. He had to admit, Gilbert was pretty good at making pancakes, not as good as Matthew himself, but they were pretty good. Better than anyone else in the circus, at least. "Yes, I like pancakes, okay?"

"You're adorable," Gilbert noted, eating his food at a calm rate and Matthew nearly froze, the blush coming back on his face. The only reason Matthew didn't stop was because it was pancakes and he was a little hungry from his meager breakfast earlier. It was noon and that was all he'd eaten and, yes, he did eat as much as Alfred, just not in front of other people, usually.

By the time Matthew was finished, he was too nervous to take the remaining pancakes, Gilbert was nearly half finished since he was eating so calmly. But if Matthew looked close enough at him, he could see Gilbert's hands shaking slightly as he ate.

"Why are you nervous?" Matthew asked, using a napkin Gilbert brought to wipe his mouth clean from maple syrup.

"I already told you I'm not," Gilbert sighed, rolling his eyes and Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"You're saying awesome too much, you're shaking, you're not eating a lot," Matthew listed. "You're nervous. Why?"

"I'm not answering questions until you answer the one I asked you in Paris," Gilbert scoffed simply and Matthew sighed.

"I wasn't lying to you," Matthew said simply.

"Whatever," Gilbert shrugged, quickly finishing off the rest of his food. "I don't want to ruin a good date with that topic. You done or was that threat of finishing the pancakes off a lie?"

"They're cold now, anyway," Matthew shrugged and Gilbert laughed before covering them again and shoving everything back into the basket.

"Off the blanket," Gilbert ordered, standing up. "I gotta run this back and we're still going to go through this date, all the way through."

"Oh, you have even more planned?" Matthew laughed and quickly moved off the blanket.

"Yes," Gilbert sighed, collecting the blanket haphazardly. "Now, stay here. Don't move."

"What if I do?" Matthew asked and Gilbert glared at him lightly before running off, back to the circus. Matthew laughed, not knowing why Gilbert didn't just have them do that at the circus, where he wouldn't have to run as much. But the albino seemed perfectly intent on making things hard on himself, so Matthew didn't say anything. After a short while, Gilbert was back, panting, and held out a hand for Matthew. Matthew just stared at it.

"This is a date," Gilbert clarified, collecting himself and standing up straight. "By my standards, that means you show affection and hold hands while we walk around."

"Uh-huh," Matthew muttered, tentatively taking Gilbert's hand. He wasn't exactly used to showing affection in public and multiple people gave them weird looks, to which Gilbert was immune to, and they walked through the park, on the old concrete path. "Where are you from, anyway?" Matthew asked curiously. If he was so old-fashioned, maybe he came from a small town or something, that might explain a lot, but not how he got to London a few months ago.

Gilbert was quiet for a moment, as if thinking through his answer and Matthew had to wonder if it was due to his old concussion. "Berlin," Gilbert shrugged. Well, there went the small town theory. "I was in London doing a job when I got separated from my bruder. I told him, if we ever got separated, I'd meet him in Berlin."

"Berlin's a really big city," Matthew noted. "How could you find him with just those instructions?"

"We know how to find each other," Gilbert shrugged with a smirk, though it seemed a little half-hearted if Matthew looked close enough. They walked out of the park and into the street, where people bumped into them without a care in the world. More people gave them weird looks, looking at their hands as if that would get them to separate, but Gilbert's grip on Matthew's hand didn't lessen. "I won't bore you with a story like that. I'll see him eventually, anyway."

"Hey, out of curiosity, what's your last name?" Matthew asked. Everyone in the circus eventually learned everyone's last name and maybe knowing Gilbert's would help Matthew learn more about him.

"Beilschmidt," Gilbert said casually and Matthew inwardly groaned. There was no way he'd be able to spell that on his own if he tried looking up Gilbert online. "What about you?"

"Williams," Matthew said. "It's not actually my last name, I don't even have one, it's just what I came up with once I needed a last name."

"You don't have a last name?" Gilbert asked suspiciously.

"Neither does Alfred," Matthew shrugged calmly. "We were both orphans and we didn't exactly need a last name until a little while ago. We go by Jones in the circus because it's just easier to say. We have different last names when we're not here because I don't want to be actually related to him. Our relationship is enough as it is."

"Weird," Gilbert muttered before stopping in front of a rather tall building with a triumphant smirk. "Well, I'm not gonna press anything if you don't wanna tell me. Anyway, here's the next part of my plan."

"We're…going into an office building?" Matthew asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll see," Gilbert winked, pulling the smaller of the two into the building. People stared at their public display of affection and Matthew blushed a deep red as Gilbert pulled him to the stairs that were usually just used in case of an emergency, opening the door and motioning for Matthew to go through first.

"What are you doing?" Matthew asked again and Gilbert smirked but stayed quiet. They wound their way up the possibly twenty floors of stairs and Matthew wasn't even tired, thankfully due to his practicing that forced him to stay in shape. Gilbert, on the other hand, looked a little worn out, then again he'd been running earlier…

"Here we go," Gilbert said proudly, opening the old, rusty door at the very top, which lead to the roof. It was very windy, whipping Matthew's hair back and forth as Gilbert pulled him to the edge of the building, which had very rusty railing that looked like it was about to fall apart any minute.

"So, what is this for?" Matthew asked.

"It's romantic," Gilbert said proudly and Matthew rolled his eyes, walking up to the railing and looking down. Hovercars passed them by while people bustled around on the ground, doing whatever it was they had to do. "It's an old thing, you wouldn't get it."

"According to Alfred's old movies, this works better at night," Matthew laughed. Then he got an idea. "So, you've been showing me some old fashioned stuff, how about I show you something from this time period, since you're obviously not too aware of what's going on in the world."

"Depends on what it is," Gilbert said, raising an eyebrow. Matthew grew a wicked grin, pulling Gilbert with him to the edge of the building. "Wh-what the hell are you doing?" Gilbert asked quickly, a small stutter escaping his lips as he tried to pull away.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Matthew laughed. He'd been used to heights since he started the tightrope. A fall like this, sure it bothered him, but not too much.

"No," Gilbert said quickly, attempting to pull his hand away while Matthew kept him just where he was. Matthew used his foot to test the weak railing, happy to find that it practically crumbled under little force. "I'm not scared of anything. It's just not normal to be that close to the edge of a building."

"Then you obviously don't know," Matthew laughed, pulling Gilbert a little closer.

"Know about what?" Gilbert asked carefully, eyeing the ground below them carefully while he tried to get as far away from the edge as possible.

"This," Matthew laughed before he fell backwards, the railing collapsing beneath him and he began his free fall, down to the ground. Gilbert, with his hand still attached to Matthew's, was forced to follow and let out a scream as they plummeted down. Matthew just laughed.

* * *

**I'm cool with leaving it here. I like this cliffhanger. Don't worry, they don't die, have faith in me. We got a little glimpse at their histories, but it wasn't very deep into it, maybe we'll see it later. I hope you're all freaking out on the inside as much as Gilbert is!**

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

While Gilbert screamed, Matthew could only laugh. After they fell about half way down the building, a red net identical to the one underneath the tight rope appeared underneath them. They hit it, not very hard, and they bounced a little. Matthew only laughed harder while Gilbert continued to freak out, trying to get onto steady ground.

"Your face!" Matthew gasped between his laughter, lying on his back comfortably. "I-I'm sorry! That was…that was hilarious!"

"I'm so glad you thought it was funny," Gilbert sighed, collecting himself while looking down, underneath the net that was now beginning to move upwards. "What the hell is this?"

"It's for safety, or something like that," Matthew shrugged. The net moved slowly, telling Matthew that it was old and not often used. "Like when people were still washing windows, they did this so they didn't fall to their deaths if they fell. And this stopped people from killing themselves on top of tall buildings. They're all over the place, you just don't see them until they're being used."

"And you thought this would be fun?" Gilbert muttered.

"Was it?" Matthew asked with a slight smirk on his face while Gilbert thought carefully. Matthew couldn't see inside of the windows of the building as they passed, but he was sure they were getting a bunch of weird looks, especially since Gilbert's tight grip on Matthew's hand hadn't gone away. Gilbert continued to stare at the ground and Matthew knew he was afraid of heights.

"Well, the adrenaline part was kinda fun," Gilbert sighed, panting slightly. "The idea of falling to my death wasn't, really."

"I wouldn't make you fall to your death," Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Gilbert muttered just as the net made it to the top of the building and Matthew quickly stood, pulling Gilbert with him. The albino seemed tentative to step on the net, despite the holes in it being fairly small, but Matthew was able to pull him back onto solid ground. "So that's what you crazy people do for fun?"

"Not often," Matthew chuckled. "Your turn. Let's do something old fashioned."

"Well, it's not fucking skydiving," Gilbert muttered, walking towards the stairs with Matthew following behind him. Matthew laughed and, for some reason, didn't mind holding his hand in public that much anymore.

* * *

"And now we're back where we started," Gilbert laughed, swinging their joined hands as they passed by the small amount of water in the park they had started their date in. Matthew looked up at the sky, which was already gray with pollution, but was getting even more gray with rainclouds. It was getting late and they both knew they would have to return to the circus soon. Matthew almost didn't want to go back, just to make this continue. "And don't worry, I won't boast to the people in the circus about this if you don't want me to."

"Actually," Matthew hummed as a drop of rain hit his face while he looked up. "I don't mind."

"I knew it," Gilbert said smugly and Matthew arched an eyebrow at him. "This date was just as awesome as me and you enjoyed it. You shouldn't have doubted me for so long."

"Whatever," Matthew laughed, hitting Gilbert's shoulder with his free hand. Since it was beginning to rain, the drops coming faster as time passed, people were smart and either pulled out some sort of cover from the rain or went inside. No one was in the park, giving the two almost a sense of privacy.

"We should probably head back," Gilbert had to yell slightly to talk over the rain that was getting harsher. "Don't wanna catch a cold."

"There's another old phrase from you," Matthew laughed. Neither of them had cover from the rain, but Matthew found that he didn't really mind. Neither of them made a move to go back.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" Gilbert asked. Matthew shrugged. "What is the normal way to ask a person out? I really don't know."

"Which is weird," Matthew laughed, a small blush rising to his cheeks. He started pulling Gilbert back to the buildings. "Here, I'll show you."

"We have to go somewhere for it?" Gilbert asked, laughing while Matthew rolled his eyes. He better just be clueless, rather than hoping that Matthew would show him. Matthew looked around, making sure no one was around, before he pulled Gilbert into the small space between two large buildings.

"I guess, if you think about it," Matthew muttered, his heart hammering in his chest for what he was about to do, "in the past, like before 2000, it was this big courting thing to ask someone out, from what I know from movies, anyway. And then it was just shortened to ask someone out. So, it's been shortened even more, to be…easier, I guess. But it's not really easier."

"Go ahead, I won't embarrass you, we're already on a date," Gilbert laughed.

"Then consider this asking for another one," Matthew mumbled before quickly leaning forward, going onto his toes slightly. He pressed his lips against Gilbert's for just a second, but he didn't ignore the jolt of pleasure that came from such a little touch, and pulled back with a bright blush on his face. Gilbert blinked at him for a while before stifling a laugh, not very well either.

"That's how you do it?" Gilbert asked and Matthew nodded. "Really? You're the one that's saying that public displays of affection aren't even accepted anymore!"

"Well, that's why it happens in private," Matthew muttered. "I made do with what I had…If you think it's stupid, we don't have to-"

"I never said it was stupid," Gilbert grinned before giving him a quick kiss in return and Matthew blushed. "You're fucking adorable and, yes, I'll go out with you again."

"Then let's get back," Matthew chuckled. The rain was really coming down now and they were both thoroughly soaked, their wet hands still intertwined. Matthew was very glad that he finally decided to accept Gilbert's offer. "We need to dry off before the show."

"Right, come on," Gilbert laughed, running through the rain with a laughing Matthew in tow. Maybe old-fashioned wasn't too bad.

* * *

"Are you gonna dream about it?" Alfred teased him.

"Al," Matthew sighed, "not now."

"But this is the perfect time!" Alfred pressed, turning over his "brother" from where he was trying to sleep just previously. "Now that it's still fresh in your head."

"Why are you asking about it in the first place?" Matthew asked drowsily, not really taking kindly to having his opportunity of sleep taken from him. "It's not that important."

"My little brother is dating the new albino guy in the circus," Alfred said bluntly. "I think this is very important to me."

"I'm older, we're not brothers, and it's none of your business," Matthew listed off before turning back onto his side, facing away from Alfred.

"But Mattie!" Alfred whined, shaking Matthew.

"Stop," Matthew groaned.

"Mattie!" Alfred whined, just a little louder. Matthew knew that, just a little louder, and he'd be waking others up, which never turned out well after a night of a performance, and in the case of Francis and Antonio, breaking into someone's house. Gilbert tried once again to pester Matthew about it.

"Al," Matthew sat upright, glaring at his "brother". "What is so important about this? Really?"

"Tell me about it," Alfred demanded excitedly, like a little kid from one of those old Christmas videos Alfred managed to find a while back. "I gotta know."

"We had pancakes, fell from a building," Alfred raised a brow at that one, "climbed trees, I asked him out again…"

"Is he a good kisser?" Alfred asked.

"It was short, I don't know," Matthew muttered, but his mind was screaming a very affirmative _Yes_ at him. "Please let me sleep now, I'm exhausted and we have to take the money tomorrow."

"But this is huge!" Alfred stated. "This is the first time you've liked someone! We gotta talk about it."

"Not while I'm half asleep, Al," Matthew muttered, running a hand through his tangled hair. That didn't help anything, as Matthew still had to blow away a few stray strands. "Let me sleep and I promise I'll talk to you about it tomorrow."

"Promise?" Alfred asked, leaning close to him.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Matthew muttered, eyes threatening to close any second. "Am I finally allowed to sleep?"

"One last question," Alfred clarified and Matthew groaned.

"Seriously?" Matthew snapped.

"Yeah," Alfred nodded happily. "Why did you fall from a building?"

"He took me up there in an old-fashioned romantic gesture," Matthew sighed. "And I thought I'd be fun to scare him, since he didn't know about the nets, and so I made us fall. Don't worry, we're fine, no bruises. Now, please, Al, let me sleep."

"Well, you don't have to beg," Alfred chuckled. "Go ahead and sleep, you little lovebird."

"Whatever," Matthew muttered, falling onto his back and turning away from Alfred. A small smile did come to his face when he thought about his time with Gilbert. Honestly, he didn't expect the date to go that well at all, but Gilbert had definitely surprised him. And Matthew was more than happy to go on another one with him. They would just have to decide when later. Maybe on the train to Germany.

* * *

**Mattie's so adorable when he has a crush! Oh, my God! I'm gonna die! Anyway, their first date was successful and no one died! Go them! I told you to trust me! Have faith in the future technology of this world!**

**Anyway, that's all I have to say so please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

"So, why can't I know about this big secret you guys have?" Gilbert asked just as the train began to move. They had already packed up, the money dispersed across the city of Brussels, and Gilbert insisted that he stay with Matthew before they went on top of the train.

"There's no secret," Matthew assured him. He had a bit of a problem lying to him now, but he figured Gilbert would be told soon anyway. Everyone liked him, aside from Ivan, but they hated each other, and Francis was sure they could trust him. He would know by the time they left Berlin. He just couldn't know now. Matthew wasn't in charge of that.

"That's just code for I can't know yet," Gilbert sighed dramatically, leaning against the side of the train. "You know, it's weird that you can't feel these things move very much."

"I guess," Matthew shrugged. He'd only ever been on trains that he couldn't feel move. He was sure if he felt one move, then he would be panicking, thinking about how soon they would be crashing. "Or maybe you're just old-fashioned."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm crazy," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I know." Matthew noticed that his "brother" was the first out of everyone to go out of a window and people followed him swiftly. "Let's go," Gilbert smirked as he quickly opened the closest window to them, ducking out first and clamoring not-so-gracefully to the top. Matthew followed him and took the hand Gilbert offered to help him up. "Do you ever get used to this?"

"Nope!" Matthew laughed, enjoying the rush of the wind around them. "It's great, though!"

"Hell yeah!" Gilbert laughed, spreading his arms wide and stumbling backwards slightly.

"So, my little bro tells me that you guys had a nice date!" Alfred shouted, tossing an arm around Matthew's shoulders.

"I'm not the younger one," Matthew sighed, rolling his eyes at his "brother" while Gilbert cackled.

"You talked about it?" Gilbert laughed.

"He woke me up in the middle of the night to force it out of me!" Matthew yelled, glaring at Alfred. "And then continued to pester me all of yesterday!"

"So that's why I didn't get to see you!" Gilbert laughed. "That makes a lot of sense!"

"Since I'm a protective older brother-"

"Not really by brother," Matthew inputted for Alfred.

"I'm gonna need to find some time to talk with you about dating my little bro!" Alfred continued, ignoring Matthew's comment, despite the fact that it was true, after all.

"Oh, yeah, I'm so scared of you," Gilbert rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't say that while we're on top of a speeding train!" Alfred laughed and Gilbert laughed as well. Now it was Matthew's turn to roll his eyes. Only those two could take a threat like that and not take it seriously.

"I should leave you two alone, then!" Matthew shouted over the wind. "I'll go talk with Ivan or something!"

"Don't let him kill you with his icy heart!" Gilbert shouted back while Matthew got out of his "brother's" grip and walked over to where Ivan was standing, talking with his sisters.

"If he forces you to go Commie, tell me and I'll be your hero!" Alfred boasted and he and Gilbert high-fived. Matthew just sighed and walked over to his Russian friend, who smiled at him. Though Matthew didn't ignore the glare he sent Alfred and Gilbert, who were animatedly talking to each other. Matthew knew the two would get along well, given enough alone time together.

"Hello, Matvey!" Ivan greeted him and Matthew nodded back to him with a smile. Natalia glared at him for interrupting her alone time with her brother, but Matthew ignored it easily enough. She didn't have any weapons and Ivan would stop her if she tried to push Matthew off, so he knew he was safe.

"Hey!" Matthew shouted in turn. "I came up with a few ideas for our act a little while ago and figured we could talk about them now! Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Ivan smiled.

* * *

Berlin, Germany

Matthew looked around the building he was in, making sure no one had followed him. Once they had begun setting up in Berlin, he had managed to sneak away, Alfred and Gilbert busy with each other's egos, and made it to a library. Computers lined the wall he was approaching and he stood carefully in front of one. The screen lit up upon sensing his presence and a search screen was already up. Matthew took a deep breath.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt," Matthew said clearly to the computer and it easily filled in the words to the search bar and began its search. Matthew quickly looked through the results, reading the short summary of each site that had information. None of them seemed very interesting, just people with the same name, but then Matthew saw something interesting. "Fourth one down."

The computer opened the page and Matthew started to read.

_Reported missing by his brother, Ludwig, Gilbert Beilschmidt disappeared in London, England in the year 2014. There was no further information given by Ludwig, aside from the picture below. It is known that he is in his early twenties and has continued to be missing for 50 years. Many theorize that he is dead and will never be found, though an alert and a reward are still supported by Ludwig. The police stopped their search after one year of nothing appearing after their search. If found, call…_

Matthew stopped reading and waited as the computer scrolled through the page, having already sensed the rate Matthew read and it stopped at the end of the page while Matthew stared at the picture the page supplied. It was an old picture, but it was from 2014, so it could clearly show all of Gilbert's features. The shocking white hair, red eyes, pale complexion, knowing smirk.

"Print this page," Matthew muttered breathlessly and quickly left the computer, which closed out of Matthew's search as he left. He ran up to the printer and took the page, still staring at the picture of Gilbert. He'd been missing for 50 years, but looked the same as in that photo. He should be in his 70s by now…

With a sigh, Matthew stormed out of the library, nearly running into several people and marched to the grounds where the domes were already all set up. Some people stood around lazily and Matthew searched desperately for the mysterious albino. He found him when Matthew entered the main dome. He was alone, setting up the tight rope.

"Gilbert!" Matthew shouted to him and Gilbert jumped slightly, but looked back at him and smiled. Matthew just walked up to him and showed him the paper. "What is this?"

Gilbert blinked, staring at the page for a while, reading what was typed on it, but Matthew tore it away from him. Gilbert stared dumbly at him, looking like he was at a loss for words, for once in his life.

"Gilbert," Matthew said. "What is going on?"

"Where did you get that from?" Gilbert asked, his voice oddly quiet and serious.

"A library," Matthew said clearly. "Now explain what is going on. You've been missing for 50 years, yet you look just like you do in that picture? What aren't you telling me?"

"Take me there," Gilbert said, apparently ignoring the rest of what Matthew had said.

"No," Matthew shook his head. "Not until you explain this to me. What is going on, Gilbert? I'm just trying to understand! Are you faking an identity?"

"No," Gilbert shook his head slowly. "Please, take me to that library."

"Why?" Matthew asked. "What is so important that we can just ignore what I found about you that doesn't make any sense at all? I need answers, Gilbert!"

"You keep your secrets and I'll keep mine," Gilbert said. "Please, I need to find my brother. Take me to that library."

Matthew was about to protest, but the look in Gilbert's eyes, the lost, pleading look that Matthew knew couldn't be made up made him change his mind. Gilbert looked almost scared, glancing at the paper in Matthew's hand, which was now down by his side. Matthew sighed and nodded, turning towards the entrance of the dome.

"Matthew, lad," Arthur said and Matthew looked at Gilbert, who nodded, and Matthew walked over to Arthur. "I need a favor of you. I would do it myself, but I'm a trifle busy at the moment. You're close with Gilbert, as I've heard around the circus. I need you to tell him, alright? I'll need him for this next target, as it's a little tricky. Are you two going somewhere?"

"Yes, but we'll be back soon," Matthew muttered, folding the paper in his hands.

"Please tell him by the time you get back," Arthur sighed and continued walking on, muttering words in German Matthew couldn't understand. Matthew moved back to Gilbert and continued walking forward. He would allow Gilbert to look up whatever it was that he needed and then tell him the truth and then he would learn about what the hell Gilbert was up to and why he needed to be so mysterious.

They made their way through the grounds of the circus and back into the streets of Berlin without a word to each other. Matthew walked ahead while Gilbert was eerily quiet behind him. They walked into the quiet library and Matthew moved to the computer that he had been at earlier. The computer recognized him and opened the old page Matthew was on.

"New search," Mathew said and the computer changed screens. "Ludwig Beilschmidt." Gilbert stayed quiet and read the results over Matthew's shoulder. The computer scrolled slower now that two sets of eyes were looking at it.

"Second one," Gilbert said and the computer obeyed. Gilbert read through it and Matthew saw that it was information on a man, roughly in his early 70s, and it described the hospital he was currently living in due to a heart condition. "I need you to take me there," Gilbert said.

"I can't just…" Matthew looked at Gilbert, who gave him pleading eyes.

"Please," Gilbert muttered and Matthew could nearly see tears in the man's eyes. "I have to see him. That's my brother. Please."

"And then you're explaining all of this to me," Matthew said clearly, pointing at Gilbert. "All of it, I don't care if it sucks for you. We're going to that hospital and you're lucky I know where it is," he had to there when Alfred "accidentally" broke his leg to get out of practice last time they were in Berlin. "But you're explaining everything to me after your done there."

"Deal," Gilbert nodded. "Hurry."

Matthew nodded and they left the library silently. They walked briskly through the city, running into multiple people as they continued. Matthew realized he had left his paper in the library, but he didn't really mind, they could just throw it away. Before long, they reached the tall hospital and they entered it, Gilbert quickly running to the reception desk to ask what room Ludwig was in. He seemed almost…desperate at this point and Matthew could only guess why. There was 50 years where they had never met each other. Luckily, the receptionist did not seem to care about them and gave him the information, waving him away quickly.

Gilbert was at the elevator in a matter of seconds and Matthew ran to keep up with him. He had to make sure Gilbert held up to his end of the deal. Desperate or not, he had explaining to do once this was over. Gilbert was silent as the elevator moved and he fidgeted nervously. Matthew gave him a curious look and was almost thankful that no one else got onto the elevator, ensuring they didn't slow down for anything.

Immediately when the door opened, Gilbert tore out of it, running around old people in wheelchairs, and Matthew followed him. He was surprised to see Gilbert go to a dead stop in front of a door, staring at the number and taking deep breaths.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" Matthew asked and Gilbert shook his head numbly.

"It's all so fucked up," Gilbert muttered and moved forward. The door opened for him and he jumped back slightly. Matthew gave him his space as he slowly walked into the room and Matthew barely glanced in after him. He barely saw an old man in a bed, his hair as white as Gilbert's. The man's eyes went wide just as the door closed.

* * *

**Well that happened quickly. To be honest, that was the only way that was gonna happen. Oh, well, it turned out okay in the end. Gilbert's becoming a little mysterious there, but we'll figure it out soon enough. I hope I didn't confuse you all too bad yet!**

**Anywho, kinda important announcement. As I am going to Denver Comic Con on Saturday, I will be a day late in updating this, meaning I'm updating Sunday instead. Just makes it easier for me, but after that, I'll be updating once every other day again. Figured I should give you all a heads up about it!**

**As always, please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

When Gilbert finally left the room, he was pale and bore a frown that didn't look natural on him. Matthew stood from the chair he'd been sitting at and Gilbert sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"You probably wanna know what the hell's happening, huh?" Gilbert asked with a small smirk, but he obviously didn't mean it. Matthew sighed.

"We steal from the rich and give to the poor," Matthew explained and Gilbert blinked in surprise. "Arthur finds rich people that are basically assholes and we steal from them and hand out the money to the people in the city. That's our secret. Arthur told me I could finally tell you."

"Heh, go figure," Gilbert smiled slightly, a true smile. "You held up your end of the deal. I guess I should, too, huh?"

"You don't have to," Matthew shrugged. Gilbert just shook his head and sighed.

"Nah…" Gilbert muttered. Matthew sat back down in his chair and motioned for Gilbert to sit in the one beside him. Gilbert slumped down in the chair, looking up at the ceiling. "You see…my brother and I were kinda like people for hire. We were low on money and we needed some. People were willing to pay for hard jobs like destroying important projects. I even killed someone for it.

"One day, we got this assignment in London, they didn't really tell us what it was, just that we should destroy it. Something about getting in the wrong hands or whatever the hell. I made Ludwig keep watch, don't worry, he was a hell of a lot younger than what you saw. And this is gonna sound really stupid, but when I broke in to destroy the thing…it was this prototype machine. I just touched it, didn't even get a chance to destroy it, and it was like I moved rooms or something, everything was so different. The machine broke itself right in front of me. Alarms went off everywhere and these guards came in, but they didn't look like anything I knew before. I barely got away and onto the streets of London, Ludwig wasn't anywhere. But it definitely didn't look the same. I was used to cars on the ground, but now they were in the sky. Circuses had tents instead of domes from where I came from."

"I've heard about time machines before," Matthew muttered, "but I thought they were all still prototypes or something."

"Guess you figured it out," Gilbert smiled lightly. "I had no idea what the hell I was doing and I couldn't understand anything worth shit. These punks thought I was hilarious and dragged me all the way to your circus. They beat the shit out of me in the middle of a show. Elizaveta found me and then came back with Arthur and took me in. I never got a chance to try to look for Ludwig."

"Alfred and I were abandoned," Matthew muttered nonchalantly. "Arthur and Francis picked us up to take care of us. Arthur was disowned by his brothers while Francis' only real love was killed. Ivan nearly got killed protecting his sisters from a terrorist bombing and lost his arms. Antonio was homeless and had to steal in order to live. Lovi and Feli were in jail for attempted assassination. Roderich was mugged and had his head nearly bashed in, giving him brain damage to the point where he can't play piano anymore. Elizaveta was a soldier in the Middle East and nearly went insane when she came back home."

"Why are you-"

"Everyone here has a story," Matthew smiled at him. "Most of time, they're less than good. But we're a family, regardless of our pasts or our hardships. So, you're from the past. Okay. At this point, there's really nothing that can be done to fix anything. All you can really do is…move on, I guess. Take what you have and keep going, making the best out of it. Your brother's still alive after you've been gone for how many years?"

"Fifty," Gilbert informed and Matthew nodded.

"He waited for you and was able to hold his own," Matthew said. "That has to make you proud, right? He continued on without you, in hopes you would be safe. Now you'll have to return the favor and continue on without him, knowing that he's safe."

"Where'd you get all these words of wisdom from?" Gilbert laughed slightly, messing up Matthew's hair.

"I've been around depressed people most of my life," Matthew rolled his eyes, carefully fixing his hair that would be messed up with that night's performance anyway. "A lot of people come to the circus with a lot of their hardships still on their minds. After they're with our family for long enough, sure everything's still there, but they've learned to live with it. So, I was abandoned, my parents didn't want me and couldn't even care enough to give me a name. I was practically forgotten in the hospital nursery because I was so quiet and I nearly died. Once I was too old for the nursery, I was kicked out of the hospital because they needed the room and didn't have the money to get me somewhere safe. I was going to die except Francis and Arthur found me. Which means I got to meet a bunch of amazing people and I learned I had a talent I would have completely ignored if I had a normal life. Honestly, I prefer this life over anyone else's."

"There's no way of taking back what happened," Gilbert sighed. "To anyone, I guess. Brows just better make sure we're coming back to Berlin often!" Gilbert started laughing and Matthew smiled. "There's no way in Hell I'm gonna leave him alone for as long as I did before!"

"Good," Matthew nodded with a slight smile of his own. "We should be heading back, we've been gone for over an hour and Alfred's gonna start worrying soon."

"I'll tell Lud I'll be back tomorrow," Gilbert said happily, standing up before disappearing behind the door again.

* * *

"Mattie!" Alfred whined the second Matthew stepped into the main dome with Gilbert, pulling his "brother" into a tight hug that left Matthew breathless. "Where the hell did you go? Did you get hurt?" Immediately, Alfred started looking over Matthew, who started laughing at his antics.

"I'm fine," Matthew pushed him away lightly. "Besides, you know I can handle myself if I had to fight, anyway."

"You do play hockey," Gilbert mused behind him and Matthew rolled his eyes. Alfred eyes them carefully, a grin cracking onto his face.

"Did you two go on another date or something?" Alfred smirked.

"No!" Matthew groaned. "It was…personal business for Gilbert. It's nothing like what you think we were doing!"

"Found my little bro!" Gilbert laughed proudly. "He's not so little since the last time I saw him, but that's how shit works, I guess."

"You've got a brother?" Alfred asked. "What the hell are you doing sticking around here for? You should either get him to join us or go with him."

"He'd prefer it if I stayed," Gilbert shrugged and Matthew slowly attempted to walk away from the conversation. "Oi, Birdie, where do you think you're going?"

"I think I should try to practice," Matthew sighed, slumping slightly. "I haven't even touched that tightrope since we got here."

"Same as always, Mattie," Alfred laughed. "Wanna go up with me?"

"No, you should just continue having your little best friend moment with Gil," Matthew laughed, quickly ducking away and making his way through the main dome to the tightrope. People were bustling around and Arthur was pacing, apparently practicing his German, while Francis seemed to stalk him from behind with a bright smile. Matthew rolled his eyes and looked at his attire, which was far too baggy for him to practice very well on the tightrope. Matthew figured, as he was climbing up to the top of the tower, he could easily take off his sweatshirt and other baggy shirt and just put them back on before he came back down. It wasn't like anyone really looked up at him while he was practicing. They had their own things to do.

* * *

Matthew had no idea how long he was up on the tightrope for, but he did love the feeling of being up there alone, free to get lost in it all. Alfred had figured out in Belgium that their new tightrope could change colors and Matthew amused himself by looking at it while he stood on his hands for as long as his body could handle. Once he was done, Matthew simply walked to the tower where he left his sweatshirt. He didn't really want to put it on, since he was already hot and sweating, but he wasn't about to just walk through the circus without a shirt on. Sadly, when he reached the tower, Matthew noticed there was a severe lack of red sweatshirts or his other shirt. His shoes were gone, too, but that wasn't as big of a deal.

"Alfred," Matthew sighed, knowing Gilbert was too afraid of heights to climb up to the top just to take Matthew's clothing. Matthew blushed slightly as he glanced down at the people still in the main dome. There were quite a few people down there, including a very obvious white head of hair. "I'm gonna kill him…" Matthew muttered, wondering if he could look around to find his "brother" but he had no such luck. With a small sigh, Matthew began to climb down, his blush growing brighter and deeper the further he went down.

Matthew nodded slightly when no one noticed him once he set foot on the ground. Taking a rather deep breath, Matthew quickly started moving for the exit, only to have it blocked when he was only a few feet away by a certain albino. The blush was officially worse.

"Why are ya walking around like that, Birdie?" Gilbert asked with a wicked smirk that told Matthew he knew exactly what happened. He was holding on of his knives calmly with one hand while the other had a very cold hand on Matthew's shoulder.

"Did you and Alfred do this on purpose?" Matthew asked and Gilbert started laughing.

"It was fucking hilarious when you didn't even see him climb up there to take your shit!" Gilbert laughed, using Matthew as support to keep himself standing. "Oh, Gott, this is great!"

"Will you please let me through so I can get my clothes back and so I can kill Alfred?" Matthew asked quietly.

"But you're so adorable when you're embarrassed like that," Gilbert smirked, leaning his face very close to Matthew's. Matthew felt like his face was on fire now. "You know, if I hadn't already seen you in tights, I would never have guessed that you were so lean under that sweatshirt you love to wear."

"Yeah, well, I don't really think I need to show everyone," Matthew muttered, trying to stare at the ground.

"You're so adorable," Gilbert smirked, pulling Matthew into a small hug that had the Canadian even more embarrassed.

"Yeah, I think I know that by now," Matthew sighed, not moving much to get away from him and get to his clothes. "Think you'll let me through to go kill Alfred or are you going to be keeping me to embarrass me even more?"

"Well, Elizaveta is practically dying over there so I think I've done my job," Gilbert laughed, releasing Matthew, who stared up at him with an exasperated expression. He was used to Alfred messing with him, but now that he had a new buddy that seemed to love to see Matthew blush to help him, Matthew just knew it would only get worse. "One more thing, though," Gilbert winked before leaning down just slightly to press his lips against Matthew's.

Matthew immediately jerked slightly in surprise, but Gilbert placed his free hand behind his head to keep him there. Matthew didn't quite mind and nearly moved to kiss him back, but then he heard the shouts and whistles from the rest of the circus and he pushed away from Gilbert, who started cackling like mad. Matthew hit him weakly in the arm.

"It's my fault for saying I didn't mind if everyone knew," Matthew sighed, smiling slightly, and ran out of the main dome before Elizaveta made it over to him to start harassing both of them. Once Matthew finally found his "brother", he gave him a good punch to the stomach as revenge. But they were both laughing about it later.

* * *

**It was so deep in the first half that I had to lighten up the mood in the second half. This isn't meant to be a very angsty fic, but this is me writing, so who am I kidding? In any case, we got some back story for a few characters there. And people were already guessing the whole "Gilbert's from the past" thing, from pretty much chapter 1 or 2. But it's still a big reveal!**

**Anywho, please review! It's nice!**


	12. Chapter 12

Matthew took a deep breath to steady himself before he quickly swung into the open window, the darkness flooding around him as he quickly and quietly ran through. Others had followed behind him, going in their own directions. Matthew had helped scout this place out a few days ago and now it was the time to take this man's money. Matthew knew he deserved it, considering all of the trinkets that would have cost millions just sitting around his house, hardly even dusted. Francis and Antonio were tasked with getting the money in the first place while Matthew and Gilbert had to make sure the man didn't wake up and do something. They couldn't be seen, that was the important part.

"Do you even remember where his room is?" Gilbert asked quietly and Matthew glared back at him, though he just looked like a blob in the darkness.

"Of course I do," Matthew hissed his reply. In reality, though, he was a tad lost. He remembered finding his room when he first scouted this place out, but the mansion was so massive that he was, in all honesty, lost. With a sigh, Matthew quietly opened a door, but saw that it was an empty guest room, filled with something that looked like it was from the Victorian era. Matthew sighed and closed the door.

"You have no idea where you're going," Gilbert sighed and Matthew sighed.

"Finding your way around this place in the middle of the day would be impossible," Matthew muttered. "Now it's pitch black and I've only ever been in here once."

"Relax, let's just try another door," Gilbert laughed quietly. He went up to another door and opened it, but shook his head. "Your turn."

"You shouldn't be so relaxed," Matthew sighed. "We've never been caught and if this stops that streak, we're all screwed." He opened a door and sighed when he found it empty, only to be lit up by the moon coming through a window.

"This guy's got a lot of shit," Gilbert muttered as he tried another door.

"He won't after tonight," Matthew said simply before opening another door. He blinked when he felt a cold breeze come from it and he could faintly see some stairs going downwards. "What is this?"

"Let's check it out," Gilbert smirked.

"We should be looking for the owner of this house," Matthew sighed. "Not going on adventures."

"Well, Toni and Franny are quiet," Gilbert shrugged before pushing Matthew forward. Matthew was luckily able to land on the stairs on his feet thanks to his acrobatics.

"I could have fallen," Matthew glared back at him.

"You? Fall? Never," Gilbert laughed quietly, messing up Matthew's hair. Matthew rolled his eyes and carefully started forward. As long as Francis and Antonio didn't have anything bad happen, they should be fine anyway. Before long, they reached a large, metal door that looked like it had a number pad on it. "This looks like it'll be more expensive than all of his other shit."

"Do you know how to hack?" Matthew asked.

"'Course I do!" Gilbert said proudly before working on the number pad, entering numbers quickly with the faint glow they gave off as his only light. After just a few quiet minutes, the door slid open in front of them. Matthew was the first to step inside and was quickly blinded by the bright light inside of the room. He blinked and quickly saw that the room only had one object in the middle of it. It was a fairly big, metal contraption and Matthew looked at it in interest. He tried looking closer at it and saw that there were words, but they were all in German.

"What does it say?" Matthew asked curiously, forgetting about their mission for now.

He looked back at Gilbert, who was staring at the words with wide eyes, reading through them over and over again. Gilbert tentatively stepped forward and placed his hand carefully on it.

"Gilbert, what does it say?" Matthew asked.

"Time machine," Gilbert muttered and Matthew froze. He mentally made sure he'd heard Gilbert right, but looking at Gilbert's face made him sure. Matthew bit his lip, watching as Gilbert looked it over. Gilbert might have said that he was over it, but Matthew knew that he would take this chance. "How does this work?"

"If you want to go, you should," Matthew muttered, staring at the ground. Gilbert stayed quiet. "I-I won't mind."

"I don't know much about how this whole time thing works," Gilbert muttered, "but if I went back, it would be like I never came here in the first place, right? I never disappeared for fifty years…"

"I have no idea," Matthew shook his head.

"I…" Gilbert paused and Matthew braced himself for Gilbert to say that he would go, that he was sorry or something like that. Tears were already coming to Matthew's eyes, but he tried to get them to go away. "I can't."

"What?" Matthew looked up at Gilbert, who was staring at the machine in deep thought, his hand still on it as he looked down at the controls. Gilbert smiled slightly, looking at Matthew.

"Maybe if I hadn't found Ludwig, I would consider it," Gilbert smiled. "And, hell, I just came to terms with everything. So what I missed fifty years?" Gilbert removed his hand, accidentally brushing a few controls. The machine started whirring. "I'll get over it."

"What did you do?" Matthew asked, staring at the machine. It was only whirring louder and louder and Gilbert stared at it in curiosity.

"I don't know," Gilbert muttered, looking at it closely. Matthew stood beside him and noticed a small screen had words on it, but they were still in German, something he didn't quite know.

"What does it say?" Matthew asked curiously, a little more relaxed now that he knew Gilbert wasn't going to leave him to return to the past.

"I didn't do anything, I swear," Gilbert said, quickly trying to type something on the controls. "It…started somehow…I-I don't think I can get it to turn off."

"Then, should we leave or something?" Matthew asked.

"Just gimme a second," Gilbert muttered, continuing to mess with the controls while the machine only got louder. Loud enough for it to wake someone up.

"Gilbert, we should get going before this gets bad," Matthew muttered.

"Trust me on this," Gilbert sighed.

"Gilbert!" Matthew shouted and the albino looked at Matthew.

"Right, sorry," Gilbert nodded, stepping back with his hands up. "Let's get the hell outta here and hope Franny and Toni got out."

"Good," Matthew nodded and turned around. Suddenly, the whirring stopped and the area around them…changed. It wasn't the room that lead to stairs and darkness. They were surrounded by cold concrete and many, many cardboard boxes piled on top of each other, sunshine from the midday sun shining through a window behind him. "G-Gilbert…?"

"Holy shit," Gilbert muttered behind him. In front of them was a closed, metal door. Matthew was starting to shake while Gilbert walked ahead of him carefully, going to the door.

"Gilbert, what happened?" Matthew asked.

"My best guess is that we travelled in time," Gilbert sighed. Matthew looked back and saw that the machine wasn't there anymore and started shaking even more.

"To…when?" Matthew asked. "Why isn't the machine here? Gilbert?"

Gilbert was already at the door, hand carefully placed on it. He looked back at Matthew, who felt like he was having a panic attack and Matthew swallowed thickly. "I don't know when, but I know how this whole thing works. The machine…I guess it didn't come with us, for whatever reason. I don't really know, if I'm honest. Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

"Wh-what if we're in the past or something?" Matthew asked. "What if…"

"Don't focus on that," Gilbert said carefully, abandoning the door to pull Matthew into a hug. Matthew buried his face into Gilbert's chest and they stood there like that for a while. "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

"What if I never see them again?" Matthew muttered quietly. That was his worst fear. His family was the only thing he had, they couldn't just be gone. If they moved to the past, as the cardboard boxes suggested, they wouldn't even be around…

"We'll figure this out," Gilbert repeated himself, rubbing Matthew's back. "Don't worry. I'm here, at least. You're not alone."

Matthew took a deep breath and nodded just as the door opened.

"Both of you, hands in the air!" a man snapped and both of them immediately separated. Gilbert put his hands up carefully and Matthew followed his example, never encountering something like this. "Face me slowly," the man commanded and both of them slowly turned towards him. Matthew's heart plummeted when he saw that it was a police officer, but in an old uniform.

"Birdie," Gilbert whispered. "Count of three."

Matthew barely nodded. At three, they would make a run for it. The man in front of them was holding a pistol, but it was old and slow compared to what Matthew knew. He could make it past him just fine.

"One."

"Hey! No talking!" the officer finally caught on and Matthew tried to steady his breathing.

"Two."

The officer took a step towards them, clearing the path to the door just enough.

"Three."

And they both ran for it. The officer fired his gun and Matthew quickly ducked out of the way before running past the man. Gilbert was slightly faster than him and Matthew followed him through a short hallway lined with doors before they reached some stairs. They ran up them, skipping three steps at a time, before Gilbert burst open another door. A few people around them screamed and Matthew was able to quickly figure out that they were in a museum of some kind. They ran quickly through the crowd and through a maze of hallways until they finally saw a massive, glass wall with doors. Guards were on their tail now, all of them holding guns, but they were able to burst through the doors and quickly turn on the street.

Matthew jumped when he saw that cars were on the ground and the sky looked a little clearer than he was used to. He followed Gilbert as they pushed their way through the crowds of people, quickly getting lost while Gilbert put his hood up so that he couldn't be easily spotted.

"Wait," Gilbert held onto Matthew's arm, forcing him to a stop. Matthew looked back at him and saw that he was looking at an odd stand filled with old newspapers. He was looking at the date. "Damn…2014."

Matthew froze, his eyes going wide. The oldest person he knew didn't even exist yet. No one he knew was going to be around for years. He felt his knees give out beneath him as he fell to the ground, staring at the concrete beneath him.

"No," Matthew shook his head furiously.

"Birdie," Gilbert knelt beside him, a tentative hand on his shoulder. "I know your freaking out, but we have to get moving. There's someone here that'll help us out for now, until we figure out what to do."

"No one I know…" Matthew muttered, shaking his head.

"It's okay," Gilbert said with a small smile. "It's okay. Deep breaths, let's keep going. Don't worry, we'll figure this out, everything is going to be fine."

"How can you know?" Matthew asked.

"I've been through this before," Gilbert chuckled. "And, I've been gone for a few months now. Remember how I promised my bruder we'd meet in Berlin? That's where we are, if the German is anything to go by. Time machines don't move you locations. I know that museum, let's get going and we'll figure everything out once we know we're safe. We just almost got caught by the police in a museum, we need some time to rest."

Matthew nodded numbly, standing up with Gilbert, who smiled carefully at him. Then they started moving again.

* * *

**Poor Mattie…he just got shoved in another time. Then again, that already happened to Gilbert, but it's still tough on him. We'll have to see what happens next!**

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Let me see…" Gilbert muttered while Matthew followed him close behind, breathing heavily while he tried to calm himself down. The streets seemed a lot busier and louder in this time period and Matthew definitely didn't like it. Gilbert was searching for someone and Matthew could guess that it would be his brother. He'd been gone for a few months, which meant Ludwig would have found his way back to Berlin by then and would be waiting for Gilbert. "He could be around here."

Matthew didn't say anything, he just wordlessly followed Gilbert through Berlin. Matthew wished he had his sweatshirt with him, so he would have somewhere to put his hands, but he stuck with just rubbing them together or balling them into fists. People were walking around like nothing was wrong while Matthew's mind was running almost as quickly as the cars bustling on the roads. Matthew stared at his hands and noticed something…odd. It was like some light of a shop they passed by flickered or something, but his hands…the lighting around them changed for a little bit. It was almost like they disappeared or something.

"This one," Gilbert nodded proudly, looking at a bar that didn't look extremely popular. Matthew barely looked at it, staring at the ground. Gilbert sighed, taking hold of one of Matthew's hands before walking into the building. The two sat at a table near the back and Gilbert pulled his hood down. The person behind the bar recognized him and they started talking in rapid German. Matthew stared at his hands. He tried not to think of everyone, he really did, but they all came into his mind. His whole family. They didn't even exist yet, only in his mind.

"Free drinks, Birdie," Gilbert smiled at him. "Want anything?"

"No, thank you," Matthew shook his head.

"We're gonna wait here, maybe for a little while, for Ludwig to come by," Gilbert sighed, kneeling down in front of where Matthew was sitting. "The bartender said that he comes by pretty much every day. We'll figure this out, I promise. For now, though, you should relax. Freaking out about it won't fix anything."

"I can't just…move on, can I?" Matthew muttered.

"You don't have to," Gilbert said carefully, moving some of the hair out of Matthew's face. "I'm not making you. Just…calm down. Please? It's definitely not good to spend all of this time freaking out "

"Right, sorry," Matthew smiled weakly at him. "Just, uh, get me something, I don't really care what."

"There's this thing with maple in it, I'll get you that," Gilbert nodded with a smile. Matthew nodded back and Gilbert stood back up to talk to the bartender in German. Matthew felt his stomach coiling up in knots, but he tried to what Gilbert advised. He was trying not to freak out. Maybe that drink was something he really needed.

Suddenly, though, the chair seemed to disappear underneath him for a second, making Matthew fall onto the ground. Matthew blinked while the bartender laughed, sounding like he was making a joke. Gilbert gave him a concerned glance, but Matthew just nodded to him.

About an hour later, Matthew had a small buzz in the back of his head that was actually calming him down. Despite Gilbert assuring him that he wasn't actually drunk yet, he'd dropped at least two glasses in the time that they had been together. A few people came in and out of the bar, but it was never busy. Gilbert stopped in the middle of a conversation when a new person walked into the bar.

He looked almost exactly like the old man from the hospital, but definitely younger. He had vibrant, blonde hair and bright blue eyes and was very well built, perhaps better built than some of the people Matthew had seen in the circus. He locked eyes with Gilbert, who quickly stood up and pulled him into a hug, talking to him in German. Gilbert smiled while the man, Ludwig, looked him over carefully. Matthew drank the last of his drink before standing up to join the two of them.

"Right," Gilbert cleared his throat, switching to English while Ludwig looked at him suspiciously. "This is Matthew. I met him while I was gone, don't worry, we can trust him."

"And how do you know that?" Ludwig asked. His voice was deep and his accent was a lot thicker than Gilbert's.

"Long story," Gilbert sighed. "We'll have to talk about it later. Trust me on this one, please."

"What the hell happened to you?" Ludwig asked.

"That thing they were talking about not getting in the wrong hands?" Gilbert sighed, glancing back at Matthew. "Don't worry, it destroyed itself after it did its job. I went to the year 2064." Ludwig gave him an odd look, glancing at Matthew, before he nodded and turned to the door.

"We'll be talking about this later," Ludwig agreed.

"Awesome," Gilbert nodded and followed Ludwig out the door. Matthew went with them, quietly thanking the bartender, who went to pick up the drinks they left behind.

They walked quickly through the streets of Berlin, none of them talking. Matthew blinked when he thought he saw Gilbert…flicker. He shook his head, thinking it was only a matter of drinking for the first time in practically a year and the setting sun. Before long, they reached a small hotel that Ludwig had apparently already checked into. Gilbert and Matthew followed him to his room, where Ludwig shut the door slowly.

"Now, explain everything that happened," Ludwig sighed, looking at Gilbert while Matthew sat down on the small armchair that the hotel provided.

"That thing we were sent to destroy," Gilbert sighed. "I know it sounds crazy, but it was a time machine. It started on its own and sent me to a random time. It was a prototype, so it basically fell apart after it took me to 2064. I got stuck there and this circus took me up."

"Do you realize how crazy you sound?" Ludwig asked bluntly and Matthew had to fight not to laugh.

"Right?" Gilbert laughed slightly. "Matt was with the circus, he's a tightrope walker, but he's fucking awesome, but that's not the point, sorry. I stayed with them until they went to Germany and I was able to find…future you, I guess. You stayed in Berlin, good on you. We found this machine while we were breaking into a house, another long story that doesn't really matter, and it turned out to be a time machine. That I accidentally turned on again. And it took us here."

"Give me a few reasons to believe that you are not insane," Ludwig said slowly.

"Birdie, do acrobatics so he can believe that part," Gilbert said, looking at Matthew, who raised an eyebrow.

"What will that do?" Matthew asked and Gilbert groaned.

"There's not a lot I can think of that'll help this whole situation," Gilbert groaned. "I sound like I'm crazy."

"Fine," Matthew shrugged and quickly flipped backwards, careful to keep the chair in the same position as he did so. "I still don't see what this is doing to help your case, though."

"Our case," Gilbert chimed. Matthew rolled his eyes and, suddenly, he dropped. Through the floor. For a second, all he saw was blackness until he dropped to the ground in another room, landing gracefully. A lady screamed next to him and Matthew immediately ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He took deep breaths before slowly walking to the elevator to go back up to the second floor. He didn't understand what had just happened, but he figured he should stay with Gilbert.

The doors opened before he even reached the elevator and Gilbert pulled him into a hug.

"What the hell was that?" Gilbert demanded and Matthew saw that Ludwig was behind him.

"I have no idea," Matthew shook his head. "I…I feel like this happened at the bar, too, when I fell out of the chair."

"All of the beer I dropped," Gilbert mumbled, pulling back to look at his hands, as if something would happen to them.

"Maybe this has something to do with the machine that took you here," Ludwig offered and the two looked at him. "Did the machine come with you on your way here?"

"No," Matthew shook his head. Then he saw it. Gilbert flickered for half a second and he stumbled slightly, shaking his head.

"There's a high chance that was also a prototype, but they have a good idea, in theory," Ludwig offered. "Maybe, after a while, it will bring you back."

"No way," Gilbert shook his head, looking over at Ludwig. "That's…"

"That means we can go back," Matthew couldn't stop himself from smiling, looking at Gilbert, who frowned slightly. Matthew bit his lip. They both looked over at Ludwig.

"Let's go back to the room," Ludwig stated and they followed him into the elevator. They were silent the way back, Matthew praying that he wouldn't fall through the bottom of the elevator while they were moving.

"What if this thing is used to…steal things, from the past or present?" Gilbert offered just as they re-entered the room. "It seems likely, considering the person we got it from. If that's the case…maybe we can take you with us, West."

Ludwig looked surprised at the comment, staring at his brother in confusion before shaking his head.

"There is still no logical reason for me to trust you about all of this," Ludwig shook his head. "I cannot go believing in some fantasy anyway."

"No, listen," Gilbert shook his head with a smile. "We'll both be better off with this circus. There won't even be anyone who'll miss us if we're both gone. No one will report us missing, it'll be like we never existed. And in the future, we can exist and be important. This circus is like a family and we could be a part of it."

"I can't simply believe this," Ludwig shook his head.

"Maybe…maybe you don't have to," Matthew mumbled, looking at Ludwig's hands, which were beginning to flicker. When Ludwig lifted them to examine them, they were done. But Matthew was sure Gilbert had seen it when he saw that smirk.

* * *

**And another short chapter. It's okay, I kinda want it to end here anyway. So now we've met young Ludwig, which is always a good thing. I never realized how crazy Gilbert would sound when he's describing his whole situation until he began explaining it. Time machines and futuristic circuses does sound a bit odd if you think about it. Yes, Ludwig's his brother and should trust him, but they're in a line of business that relies completely on proof and evidence. I'm sure Ludwig wants to believe his brother, but he's stopping himself from blindly believing him at risk of something bad happening, especially since it sounds so crazy.**

**Anyway, please review! It's nice!**


	14. Chapter 14

"So, how do we know what's coming back with us?" Gilbert wondered out loud, staring at his hands, as if he was waiting for them to flicker again. They were back on the street the next day, after a long night of little sleep in the hotel room. Matthew had managed to fall through the bed twice while Gilbert fell off the chair. If Ludwig had fallen, he did it quietly to not alert either of them.

"How do we know if we're even coming back?" Matthew asked. "We're just…flickering. That doesn't mean anything, if you think about it."

"Don't be pessimistic," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "You should be happy for the chance to go back."

"I would rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed," Matthew said. Ludwig was walking ahead of them silently and Gilbert groaned.

"Both of you are being such downers," Gilbert sighed heavily. "I think this is a good thing, if you ask me. Life's better in 50 years, Birdie's going back home, there's no downside."

"You may have already accepted a completely different time as your home," Ludwig said, "but I still think of this time period as my home. You adjust to different environments quickly, I do not. There is also no proof that any of this is actually real."

"Then we should just wait and see what happens," Gilbert shrugged simply. Matthew sighed. Gilbert was perfectly relaxed about the whole situation. He had been nice when Matthew was freaking out, but he was probably relaxed then, too. If he was able to be just fine living 50 years in the future for a few months without even freaking out a little, he was fine going back and forth between time periods. "If I'm right, I'm right."

"And if you're wrong?" Matthew asked. "What happens then?"

"Then we move on," Gilbert shrugged. "You were the one that told me about that after I was depressed about seeing Ludwig in fifty years. Whatever happens, we'll be fine."

Suddenly, the rea around them seemed to change completely. Back to that room with the time machine. But only for a second before they were back on the streets of Berlin. Matthew stumbled slightly and Gilbert looked back at him, carefully.

"That was a little longer than the other ones," Gilbert muttered. "Where did you disappear to for a few seconds?"

"I-It was only one second," Matthew shook his head. "It was the room with the machine."

"It was definitely a few seconds," Gilbert muttered, looking at him carefully. "Guess it took a while to travel all the way there."

"Okay, so if we really are going back," Matthew muttered, hardly holding back a smile at the idea of going back home, "how do we know if Ludwig is coming, too?"

"He's been disappearing, too," Gilbert shrugged and looked back to where Ludwig was and Matthew's jaw dropped when he saw that he wasn't there anymore. There was no sign of him down the street. "Lud?" Gilbert asked carefully, looking down both sides of the street and across the street as well. "Shit, did he already go?"

"What if he didn't?" Matthew asked. It was something to consider, he knew that much.

"He wouldn't just run away," Gilbert shook his head. "He would stay with me. He's by bruder. Alfred would stay with you if this happened."

"We do sound like we're crazy," Matthew shrugged. "There is a reason you never told us that you were from a different time, because it sounds like you're insane when you say it out loud."

"He wouldn't ditch us because I sound crazy," Gilbert groaned, running a hand through his hair, he paced while looking around the street. "He had to have gone to the future. Now we just have to wait, alright?"

"If he's not there when we get there?" Matthew asked carefully.

"I don't know, alright?" Gilbert snapped. "I'm being optimistic because that's just what I do, I'm sorry. If he's not there, then I'll deal with that bridge when I cross it. Now we just have to wait until we disappear, too."

Matthew nodded. "Fine. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for," Gilbert sighed. "We're both stressed out. It'll calm down after this is all over."

"Sure," Matthew nodded. Then, Gilbert flickered before he disappeared. Matthew waited with baited breath for a few seconds, standing there while people pushed past him. The seconds quickly turned into a minute and kept going. Matthew was alone.

Matthew bit his lip, taking deep breaths while he waited. He definitely didn't like being alone like this. Being alone at the top of the tower to practice was one thing, but being surrounded by thousands of people that most likely didn't know English 50 years in the past was enough to freak anyone out.

Finally, Matthew appeared in a dark room again, staring at a whirring machine in front of him and let out a relieved sigh. He looked around the room and first saw a bunch of scattered objects, like a bed, chairs, the bottles from the bar…

"Birdie," Gilbert let out a relieved sigh and Matthew was wrapped into a hug. Matthew laughed slightly, hugging him back. "Damn, that took a little longer than I thought it would."

"Is…uh…is Ludwig here?" Matthew asked carefully and Gilbert pulled back with a smirk. "I sent him to scout out the area, to make sure there's no one looking around. If we came back at the same time we left, or even after, someone just stole billions of euros from this guy."

"At least he has a bed and a few chairs to make up for it," Matthew muttered with a small smile. "We'll need to find out how much time we missed, if we missed any."

Gilbert opened his mouth to say something, but there was a loud sound on the other side of the metal door, followed by shots from a gun. Gilbert smirked. "Let's get going, then."

"You're crazy," Matthew shook his head, but followed Gilbert out of the door anyway.

* * *

**Gah! I'm sorry for the short chapter! Really, I am! It's just that not a lot could happen and so this was all that could happen. Anyway, they're back in the future (I would say the title of those movies, but that's copyright) and we can maybe get back to the circus. Unless they've moved on by now. After all, you guys don't know how long they've been gone. Anyway, I swear, next chapter will be longer than normal. That being said, there are only two chapters left, including an epilogue. Sorry this fic's been kinda short, but it wasn't meant to be extremely long in the first place.**

**Also, regarding all wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff (since someone asked about that), here's how it all plays out. I'll try not to give you a headache. Gilbert was still missing for 50 years, he was still always in the future, and so nothing that he did, regarding what we see in the future, changed. Stuff Ludwig did, however, changed. I'm going to pretend that there are no massive repercussions and he didn't do anything massive to change the world. The only thing that directly affects the story that changed would be the missing person notice. However, Matthew was in the past and is very aware of the change that happened and, therefore, is unaffected by wibbly wobbly timey wimey effects. He's seen that note before it didn't exist (if that makes any sense) and so nothing in his mind has changed. No one else in the story saw that note and so nothing in their minds changed. **

**Anyone got a headache yet? Basically, to sum it all up, nothing's really changed, all that happened is they brought someone with them to the future. (Now I realize why no one ever summarizes Doctor Who, it's like hell trying to make everything make sense.)**

**Anyway, again I'm sorry for the 1,000 word chapter and I will see you all in two days!**

**Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

As soon as they ran up the stairs, guards and policemen shouted at them and some even began to shoot. Matthew quickly darted out of their way, Gilbert right behind him. Matthew went straight for the window he had used when they first got there to get out. It was dark, but it looked like the sun was just beginning to rise. Hopefully, it would be dark enough so that they weren't recognized as circus acts. They had managed a fair distance between them and the guards, giving Matthew plenty of time to throw the window up and jump out, easily rolling to a landing on the ground. Gilbert's landing wasn't as graceful, but he was quickly back on his feet.

"Do you think Ludwig made it out alright?" Matthew asked as they started running again. They had to move fast, since the long, empty expanse of a front yard would make them easy targets at the perfect angle for the people with guns.

"He's fine, I'm not worried about him," Gilbert shrugged and they quickly made their way over the large fence just as the guards started shooting again. Matthew glanced back at Gilbert and noticed that his hood was up, so he was thinking about the circus as well, either that or trying to hide well in the dwindling darkness of the early morning. They finally stopped a fair distance away. "Let's look for him and then head back to the circus. We just have to hope they didn't move on."

"Even if they did, we know where the next location is," Matthew shrugged. "We can just hope we can catch up with them in Warsaw."

"Don't worry, Birdie," Gilbert smirked, messing up Matthew's hair. "We'll get back. Let's go." They turned to walk around the perimeter of the mansion. Matthew smirked when he could hear the fat man that owned it yelling at the guards for their incompetence, even at this distance. He was pissed off, and he deserved to be. Finally, after a few minutes, they found Ludwig, crouching behind a tree. The man in the mansion had obviously paid for their to be at least some trees separating his home and the rest of the city, which Ludwig didn't seem able to take his eyes away from. "Do you believe me yet?" Gilbert asked him with a smirk, holding out his hand to help the man up.

"It's very hard not to when you see flying cars," Ludwig muttered, staring at the sky. Despite the time of day, there were plenty of cars overhead, going on their merry way to whatever it was they had to do that day.

"There's so much awesome shit here!" Gilbert said excitedly. "Just wait until you see the circus! They have domes instead of tents! And they can basically all collapse into tiny little cubes! It's so awesome!"

"Let's head back," Matthew almost hated to interrupt, but the sooner they joined with his family, the better. "If they're still there, we know we have luck on our side. We still don't know how long we've been gone for."

"Judging by the sound of the owner of that place, it's been a max of a few days," Gilbert shrugged. "But that would mean the circus would have left a few days ago."

"So let's hurry," Matthew said and Gilbert nodded. They turned to Ludwig, who let out a sigh.

"Fine, we will see if the circus part of your story is real as well," Ludwig sighed. Then they were running again. Matthew remembered clearly the route they took to get to that mansion and retraced their steps, careful to not really step into the light, sticking to the shadows. There was a small park that they were able to run through. Ludwig seemed rather distracted by everything around him, including the new, massive buildings that had been built in the last 50 years. People were already walking around the city by the time they reached the little area that the circus had set up in.

Matthew let out a heavy sigh of relief when he saw the domes and stopped running just in front of the entrance. There was a floating, glowing message that read the fine the circus was having to pay for staying longer than they originally intended. Matthew ran through it and into the circus grounds. Due to the early time of day, no one was around, but there was one person that immediately looked in their direction.

"Matthew!" the girl gasped and ran up to Matthew, pulling him into a tight hug. Matthew immediately hugged her back.

"Eliza," Matthew muttered happily, looking at Elizaveta as she pulled back with a bright smile.

"Where did you go?" she demanded. "We were looking for you two for days and Arthur was just about ready to leave. You were about to be a missing person…who's that?" She looked at Ludwig carefully and Gilbert laughed brightly. Elizaveta glared at him. "Did you do something to him?"

"Of course not!" Gilbert muttered.

"How long were we gone for?" Matthew asked. "Where's Alfred?"

"Three days," Elizaveta shrugged. "Alfred's been searching for you non-stop. I think the only time he slept was when Arthur forced him to yesterday. He's out in the city right now."

"I'm going to go look for him," Matthew muttered, turning around. Elizaveta held onto his wrist to prevent him from going anywhere.

"No, you should stay here, wait for him to come back," Elizaveta shook her head. "You've already been missing for so long. Everyone will want to see you."

"But Alfred's still looking for me," Matthew demanded. "I have to make him know I'm alright the second I can."

"Oi, Birdie," Gilbert chuckled. It sounded like he was about to say something, but he was cut off by the shrill yelling of none other than Alfred Jones.

"MATTIE!" Alfred screamed and Matthew was quickly picked up in a tight hug that cut off his air flow. "Never do that again! I swear to God, if you do that to me again, I'll tie you to our tightrope. Why the hell did you run away from your big brother?!"

"Al," Matthew squeaked. "Can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry," Alfred quickly set Matthew down and turned him around to face him. Matthew was surprised. His hair was disheveled and there were deep bags under his eyes that told him Alfred didn't really get a lot of sleep at all. He looked worried sick.

"I'm sorry," Matthew said as he caught his breath. "It's a long story and I swear I didn't mean to go anywhere. Gilbert and I just-"

"I think we should wait on that," Gilbert cut him off and Matthew turned to glare at him. "We're gonna tell this story a hundred times unless we just explain it to everyone at once. I would rather there not be rumors about Luddie going around before we even get to fucking Poland."

"Then let's go wake everyone up!" Alfred smiled brightly, gripping onto Matthew's wrist and pulling him with him.

"Alfred!" Matthew snapped, trying to get out of his brother's iron grip, to no avail. "Let me go! It's not like I'm going anywhere this time!"

"No way," Alfred smirked. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again!"

"Alfred," Matthew groaned.

* * *

The entire circus was quiet after they finished telling their story. Arthur, immediately upon finding out Matthew was back, gave him a hug and then started to gather everyone in the circus in the main dome. At first, people gave Matthew and Gilbert hugs or handshakes or shouts of anger or dismay. A lot of them looked at Ludwig curiously. Finally, Arthur was able to get everyone in the circus to circle around Matthew, Gilbert, and Ludwig, with the help of Francis. It seemed that Francis, despite being worried sick for Matthew and Gilbert, was able to use this time to get a little closer to Arthur, who apparently didn't seem to mind when the man stood _very_ close to him.

Matthew and Gilbert had shared their entire story and introduced Ludwig and the circus seemed to be stunned into quiet, an amazing feat considering all of the people that were in the circus and their various personalities. As the time of silence continued while everyone came to grips with the story and chose whether or not they believed it, Matthew shuffled his feet, staring at the ground beneath him.

"Did you really fall through the floor of a hotel room?" Antonio asked before laughing. A few others laughed as well.

"You probably looked really drunk falling out of that chair, Mattie!" Alfred laughed as well and Matthew laughed, too.

"You guys believed that story a lot quicker than Luddie," Gilbert snorted.

"Why would either of you have a reason to lie to us?" Francis asked and a few others chorused in agreement.

"What the fuck is a family worth if they think you're lying all the time?" Lovino scoffed.

"And now we have a new person!" Feliciano chimed, running up to Ludwig. It was kind of funny, the obvious differences in build and height between the two of them, but Feliciano didn't seem fazed at all. He stuck out his hand in front of Ludwig happily. "My name's Feliciano, but you can call me Feli!"

"Um, hello," Ludwig said, obviously taken aback. Soon, he was swarmed by people saying hello to him as well. Matthew stepped back from the crowd, but he could hear quite a few comments on how he didn't look like Gilbert's brother and even Feliciano complaining about how Ludwig was his friend first.

"So, the past, huh?" Alfred asked with a smirk. "What's it like?"

"Did you not pay attention to the story?" Matthew laughed when Antonio and Francis dragged Gilbert deep into the group around Ludwig. Matthew could only guess how flustered the German would be at this point.

"Well, I want details!" Alfred whined. "I'm your big brother! You gotta spill all of it to me!"

"I would be older," Matthew repeated himself, but decided not to say anything about the fact that they weren't brothers.

"Then why am I bigger?" Alfred puffed out his chest proudly. "And taller?'

"We're almost the same height!" Matthew protested.

"And louder? And stronger?" Alfred continued to list it off.

"Well, you are dumber," Matthew shrugged.

"Yeah!" Alfred said before he actually caught on to what Matthew had really said. "Hey!"

"Too late to take it back now," Matthew laughed. "You already admitted that I'm smarter than you."

"You can't deny I'm stronger, though!" Alfred laughed, pulling Matthew into a headlock. Matthew struggled to get out of it, despite it being a futile struggle. "Now, you gotta tell me everything that happened, including anything that happened with Gilbert. And you gotta be explicit, or I'll give you a wedgie or something."

"You have to stop watching those old movies and TV shows," Matthew rolled his eyes. He didn't even know what a "wedgie" was. "And nothing happened between us while we were there. We were more focused on trying to figure out what happened and how to get back, alright?"

"That's no fun!" Alfred whined, holding onto Matthew tighter. "Make something up then."

"What?" Matthew gave his brother a questioning look.

"Make something up," Alfred smirked. "I'm not letting you go until you give me some kind of juicy story that may or may not have happened between you and Gilbert."

"I don't have to do anything," Matthew said. He had to admit, he almost missed Alfred when he was gone. Sure, it was a little nice to not worry about his "brother" pouncing on him any second, but it was like there was something missing. Even if it was only for a few days, it was the longest the two had been so far away from each other. Even when the circus disbanded temporarily, Alfred would at least try to call him every day, just to talk.

Matthew smiled while Alfred demanded the juiciest story that Matthew could think of that could happen between him and Gilbert.

* * *

Warsaw, Poland

"I'm sure we'll find something for him," Matthew shrugged, swinging his legs underneath him.

"This is just frustrating to watch," Gilbert groaned, falling backwards, onto the bright red net they were sitting on. They were on the net for the tightrope, sitting and watching while Arthur attempted to find an act for Ludwig that they didn't already have. "Oi, West! You could still be my assistant for knife throwing!"

Matthew laughed when Ludwig's face turned slightly white and he shook his head. Arthur forced his attention back on the matter at hand, which happened to be juggling. He was dropping everything he attempted to throw in the air.

"Everyone else seems to be getting along just fine with him," Matthew said as Gilbert sat back up.

"Feli really seems to like him," Gilbert smirked. "I can't wait to see his face when Feli finally asks him out in your weird, futuristic way. Oi, speaking of which…" Matthew looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. Gilbert placed a quick kiss to his lips and Matthew blushed slightly.

"What was that for?" Matthew mumbled.

"Well, you asked me out again a while ago, but it's been a long time," Gilbert shrugged. "I figured I could renew the offer?"

"You don't need an excuse to kiss me," Matthew chuckled, shaking his head. "It's not like we're in public or anything. We're in front of family."

"If we're all family," Gilbert laughed slightly, "would that make this incest?"

"No more than me and Alfred," Matthew shrugged and groaned just at the idea of him and his "brother" being together. Matthew fell backwards, onto the net, looking up at where the tightrope would be if he were practicing. "How long until Feli kisses him, do you think?"

"Considering Lovi's interfering a lot and Feli actually seems a little shy about it?" Gilbert mused. "I'd give it a few more days. Maybe when we're in Russia, at the latest?"

"It looks like Lovino really is the only one that hates Ludwig," Matthew laughed. "Maybe he's just being protective of his brother."

"Hell, I'm protective of my bruder, but I'm not going around and cussing Feliciano out," Gilbert shrugged.

"That's because Feliciano isn't twice your brother's size and incredibly intimidating when he's serious," Matthew laughed.

"Okay, fair enough," Gilbert shrugged. "Yeah, West! You juggle that shit!"

"You're so embarrassing," Matthew laughed, sitting up right. Ludwig was actually juggling, but he dropped them shortly after he started. "You should be practicing, anyway. I remember last time, you nearly hit Yao, three times."

"That's because he twitched at the wrong time!" Gilbert groaned. "I told him not to do that."

"It's hard not to flinch when someone's throwing electric knives at you," Matthew laughed. "And, Gil?"

"Yeah?" Gilbert asked, watching Ludwig as Arthur tried something else.

Matthew lightly kissed Gilbert's cheek.

"I'd like to go on that date with you sometime soon," Matthew smiled softly.

* * *

**Fluff! Fluff 'cause why not! I owe you guys for the last chapter. It was short and I'm going through a bit of writer's block so that means it wasn't exactly up to par with my best writing abilities and I apologize. In any case, now they're back with the circus and everything's happy. Which just leaves the epilogue, which I think is also adorably fluffy. You'll just have to find out once it's out!**

**Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Oslo, Norway

Matthew was pretty happy. The rest of their time going through Europe with the circus had gone just fine and without event. This was their last stop before they would be forced to disband again. Just the idea made Matthew sad, but he figured he could get over it. It had been a few months, attempting to weave their way through most of the countries in Europe and even spending a week and a half in Russia, going to a few different cities as they made their way up to Finland. Ludwig had managed to find that he was pretty good with the animals, helping fix them if anything bad happened, and adding a new person to the act to make it more interesting. He was also very helpful in breaking into the homes of obnoxious rich people. Turns out, he had no problem with such a thing, just like Gilbert.

They day they arrived in Oslo, after pretty much everything had been set up, Matthew sat on the net of the tight rope, watching as Gilbert attempted to nail a new trick. He had set up his target (without Yao) fairly close to Matthew and they were talking while he failed to use his knife to attach a ring to the target.

"Maybe it's the way you're throwing the rings," Matthew offered with a shrug. Gilbert grumbled. He had to use fairly large, plastic rings and they were all clattering to the ground. He threw one up in the air and attempted to throw the knife through it, but the knife sailed into the target alone, without a ring to keep it company. "Your aim is off today."

"I'm trying to get the fucking ring, okay?" Gilbert groaned, walking over and pulling out the five knives that were plunged in the old target before he trudged back to where he was standing before, scooping up the rings on the ground. "It's harder than it looks."

"And it'll only get harder when you move to the real rings," Matthew chuckled. Gilbert rolled his eyes before trying another set. Matthew noticed with a frown that Gilbert's hands were shaking. It was probably because of this new trick that he wasn't getting. Finally, the last one that he threw slammed into the target with the ring. Gilbert was frozen in time almost as he stared at it before he burst out with a yell.

"Hell fucking yeah, bitch!" Gilbert announced proudly, a fist going into the air as he jumped up.

"Always so polite," Matthew giggled as Gilbert ran up to him and gave him an excited kiss, his hands still trembling, before he picked up the knives and the single ring.

"I'm awesome, don't deny it," Gilbert said proudly as he marched back to his original position. He poised himself again to toss up the ring and then throw the knife. They both clattered onto the target, though it wasn't exactly a crack shot.

"You nearly missed the target," Matthew snorted. "You never get that far away from the center."

"Shut the hell up, this is fucking hard," Gilbert grumbled, trying again. This time, he missed the ring altogether and the knife didn't even make it into the target far enough, falling to the ground. "That was because you made me nervous."

"You? Nervous?" Matthew smirked. "Never."

"Fuck off," Gilbert grumbled under his breath before trying again. This time the knife and the ring managed to get a little closer to the center. "I've got this," he mumbled, mostly to himself, as the next three managed to land with their rings around the center of the circle. "Ha!" he shouted at Matthew before picking up his things once again.

"It's so impressive that you can tack plastic rings onto a target," Matthew chuckled sarcastically. "Maybe I'll act impressed when you get an actual ring up there."

"I'm working on it," Gilbert sighed. He threw the six without a single interruption, all of them hitting as close as they could to the center without clattering against each other. "Those rings are so fucking big, it's obnoxious," Gilbert grumbled.

"Well, they're for practice," Matthew shrugged.

"Then maybe I should try practicing with the real things soon, because this is crazy," Gilbert sighed, picking up his knives and rings before walking back to where he stood. He was still shaking, but steadied his breath as he threw five more, all of them making a perfect circle around the center.

"I feel like you're trying to miss the center now," Matthew laughed.

"Maybe I am," Gilbert shrugged, shaking out his arms before pulling something out of his back pocket. He tossed it up and it had the distinctive ring of metal. He threw the knife and Matthew almost didn't see the small ring that landed directly in the center of the target with the knife holding it in place. Gilbert smirked triumphantly.

"I thought you didn't have the actual rings yet," Matthew mumbled, getting up to look closer at the ring. The knife had been thrown perfectly, not even scratching any of the ring. The closer Matthew looked at it, the more he noticed, however. It was gold and, on the inside, it looked like there was something written. Matthew swiftly pulled the knife out, catching the ring, before slamming the knife back into the target. He examined the ring a little closer to find that it was his own name engraved into the inside of the gold. "You are so old-fashioned," Matthew laughed, turning around. He jumped back slightly when he saw Gilbert kneeling down in front of him.

"I have a damn good reason to be old-fashioned," Gilbert shrugged with an aloof smirk. Matthew could clearly see his hands shaking, however, and he saw Gilbert nervously swallow. "You've seen old movies, right? You know what this means?"

"The only thing not old-fashioned about this is the fact that you're definitely not moving as slow as people in the old movies," Matthew laughed slightly, feeling butterflies in his own stomach as he stared at the ring. Naturally, he would have to take it off for performances and when they took money from rich people, but at least then he could always see the name of the person this ring belonged to. It wouldn't do to just stare at the outside of it all of the time, after all.

"So, what do you say?" Gilbert asked impatiently, shifting slightly in his kneeling position. Matthew smiled and kneeled down in front of him, holding the ring in a tight fist as he looked Gilbert dead in the eyes.

"How about I show you how people propose now?" Matthew offered and Gilbert swiftly pulled him into a kiss, despite the awkward position.

"Considering just asking someone out is kissing them, I am very curious," Gilbert smirked, not moving his lips far from Matthew's after they separated.

"We still have some time before our show," Matthew shrugged, biting Gilbert's lip softly. "I'm sure no one will mind if we disappear for a little while."

"Awesome," Gilbert smirked and quickly stood, helping Matthew up as well. Matthew couldn't help but laugh again as he looked at the ring.

"You know, people don't normally get rings nowadays," Matthew smiled, staring at the object as they started walking out of the dome, ignoring Alfred's shouts of "get some!" and Elizaveta's squeals and a shot from Kiku's camera. He wasn't about to give it back, no way in hell. He would fight before he gave up this ring. Not even Alfred would wrestle it away from him.

"Then it's a damn good thing we're not normal," Gilbert smirked.

* * *

**Yay, cheezy endings! And fluff! Everyone likes fluff, right? Yes, this is the end of this story, I am sad to say. Those of you following Fallen Stars, this does mean that I will be updating that every day now. For those of you that greatly enjoy PruCan, I will be staring a new fic on the First of July titled "Challenge." I hope to see you all there!**

**Please review!**

**I do not and never will own Hetalia in any of its many, many forms.**


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